NFL GM Says Shedeur Sanders Approached Draft Process As if He Was Being 'Recruited'

Shedeur Sanders had an interesting approach to the NFL draft process, and that clearly contributed to his slide to the fifth round.

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, one general manager said the Colorado product treated his meetings with teams ahead of the draft as if he were being "recruited," rather than being "interviewed."

Sanders, who threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns with the Buffaloes last season, was widely projected to be a first-round pick heading into the draft. Even after the first round came and went, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before someone picked him up.

But he continued falling through the second, third and fourth rounds before finally getting selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round.

In the days after the draft, several reports made it clear that Sanders' slide had less to do with his skill than it did with the way he went about the draft process.

NFL insider Josina Anderson reported in March that one quarterbacks coach from a team drafting inside the top seven said the 23-year-old came across as "brash" and "arrogant" during his interview. According to The Ringer's Todd McShay, teams felt he didn't have a "professional approach" in interviews.

Per CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones, Sanders "more or less sandbagged" and "did not give it his all" during interviews with teams he didn't want to play for, which "rubbed some teams the wrong way."

Sanders also reportedly didn't take the blame for interceptions when watching film with teams and failed to identify intentionally placed mistakes in an install.

There have been plenty of players in the past who had bad interviews or came into the draft with a little too much confidence but still were selected in the first round, but teams this year clearly felt Sanders' character issues outweighed what he could give them on the field.