NFL insider: Media didn’t get ‘complete picture,’ teams scared of ‘everything around’ Shedeur Sanders

ESPN’s Dan Graziano had another theory as to why Shedeur Sanders slid in the NFL Draft this past weekend: his father Deion Sanders. Based on what Graziano discussed with sources during the draft, Shedeur Sanders was potentially mis-evaluated going into the weekend.

Graziano pointed out how some could’ve been afraid of criticism from Deion Sanders and camp for putting any negative reviews on Shedeur Sanders and what he could bring to the table. The most negativity people saw with Shedeur Sanders during the draft were the anonymous quotes criticizing the quarterback’s pre-draft interviews.

The former Colorado quarterback was eventually drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fight round. Ironically, the Browns were a potential landing spot in the first, if not late first or early second round for Sanders in most mock drafts.

“I texted with a lot of people Saturday morning, like the topic of why this is happening, why he’s still available,” Graziano said on Get Up. “I had a couple people say to me, to the point about media, you guys weren’t getting a complete picture, because the theory was that people inside these buildings were kind of scared to give their honest opinion of them because of the potential for criticism. 

“The potential for Deion and everything that’s around Shedeur to kind of come down on them. So I think we might have got some bad information in terms of how teams looked at him. But I think at some point, Friday night into Saturday, it started to snowball where teams are kind of sitting back and think, ‘well somebody else will probably take him.’”

Shedeur Sanders brought caution to teams in late rounds

Browns GM and head coach Kevin Stefanski eventually pulled the trigger on Sanders, welcoming anything that comes with the quarterback. That includes any potential noise with Coach Prime.

“I’d just say it was probably a mixture of like, you know, gratitude, relief and determination,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said of Sanders’ reaction on Saturday following the conclusion of day three of the 2025 NFL Draft. “That would probably be the best way to characterize it. But he’s certainly ready to go.”

Berry spoke with Sanders ahead of the selection to let him know that the Browns would be bringing him on board. He revealed the message he and Stefanski gave to their new quarterback on the phone on Saturday as well.

“You’ve got to come in and work, and you’ve got to come in and compete,” Berry said. “That’s the message. Nothing’s given. Given the nature of the weekend for him, relative to, let’s say, external expectations, versus what happened.

“We did tell him that it really doesn’t matter where you picked, it’s what you do from that point forward. Because that’s the reality for all the guys that we selected this weekend.”