Browns rumors: Insider shoots down Shedeur Sanders ‘sentiment’ after draft slide

The most interesting story during the NFL Draft was seeing how Shedeur Sanders continued to slide and not get picked until the fifth round. After selecting a Dillon Gabriel a day before, the Cleveland Browns decided to double-dip and select Sanders with the 144th pick in the draft.

After the draft, there were theories on why Sanders was picked so late, with one of them alluding that he would’ve been better off going undrafted, and he could have picked the team he wanted to go to and negotiated his own contract. Going undrafted would have led him to sign for a shorter deal so he can try and earn more money sooner rather than later.

It’s an interesting take, but ESPN’s Dan Graziano believed it was an overreaction and shot down the reasoning.

“It’s an interesting idea, for sure. And if Sanders had been picked by a team such as the Chiefs, Bengals or Chargers — teams with cemented starting quarterbacks in place — I probably would have agreed with it,” Graziano wrote. “But Cleveland offers Sanders an opportunity to compete for and win the starting job right away.

“Watson, who had another surgery on his right Achilles tendon, might not play much this season, if at all. Unseating Flacco, Pickett and Gabriel shouldn’t be an impossible task if Sanders is the pro-ready prospect he believes himself to be.”

Sanders does have a good chance to win the starting job for the Browns, and it will be interesting to see how he performs when camp starts. People are still stunned that he dropped so far in the draft, but it seems like he was still able to go to a situation where things could work out for him.

At this point, it doesn’t matter when he was drafted, but more of what he will do with the opportunity.