Cleveland Browns war room goes viral for Shedeur Sanders pick reaction

It isn’t unusual for a team to have its war room filmed after making a selection during the NFL Draft. It’s typically reserved for day one, but 2025’s fifth round made an exception.

When Shedeur Sanders was announced as the fifth-round pick for the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, the ESPN feed cut to the Browns war room. Their reaction, or lack thereof, from the Cleveland brass, would end up going viral on social media.

Browns war room after drafting Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/VA0qU0KtUc

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 26, 2025

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Barry were front and center in the video, clapping after making the selection. However, their stone-like faces don’t exactly appear to scream excitement.

The Browns selected Shedeur Sanders No. 144 overall, two rounds after taking another quarterback during the 2025 NFL Draft — former Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel. With the likes of Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson also on the roster, Sanders will have to compete for playing time throughout the offseason.

If Sanders’ college tape is anything to go by, he may work himself onto the field at some point during his rookie season. As a senior in 2024, Sanders threw for a career-best 4,134 yards on an impressive 74% completion percentage to go along with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Spending the last two seasons playing for the Buffaloes, he scored 72 total touchdowns.

All told, Sanders passed for 14,318 yards and 134 touchdowns. His 10 interceptions in 2024 were a career-high, so he isn’t known for turning the ball over through the air.

Before Colorado, Sanders played two seasons for Jackson State, where he threw for an impressive 70 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions. All four seasons of his college career were played under his head coach and father, NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

Even still, Sanders being drafted by the Browns appeared unlikely heading into the third day of the 2025 NFL Draft after Cleveland selected Gabriel on day two. It was discussed as a possibility on day one but would draft standout Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5 overall after trading back with the Jacksonville Jaguars from the No. 2 spot. Relatedly, the Jaguars would draft Sanders’ college teammate Travis Hunter with that selection.

Sanders’ fall to the third day of the draft was the biggest storyline of the three-day event and concluded midway through the fifth round. Whether Sanders will be able to use this for motivation as he enters the Cleveland Browns organization remains to be seen.