It all played out in public for Shedeur Sanders, every last bit of disappointment and disrespect.
An NFL draft of expected celebration became a weekend of waiting, if not worrying. From a mean-spirited prank spinning across the internet to a seemingly interminable delay in getting drafted — not just a few picks after the mocks had predicted, but a few days.
Along with it all came a comeuppance — accurate or not, understandable or not, deserved or not. This is the NFL — the Not Fair League. No value in complaining, it won’t get you anywhere.
And it’s worth noting, Sanders isn’t complaining.
“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity,” Sanders said of getting picked 144th overall by the Cleveland Browns, a Saturday selection long after the expected Thursday night coronation. “I don’t ever focus on the negative or even think about the negative …
“I’ve just got to prove and show what I’m capable of,” Sanders continued. “What fuels me is my purpose in life and understanding the route that we’re going to have to take. Understanding that I was able to get an opportunity when a lot of people didn’t want to give me an opportunity. So that’s what I’m truly thankful for.”
One reason for the NFL’s lukewarm interest in the Colorado quarterback was, reportedly, that he said too many of the wrong things in team interviews.
At least now he is saying all the right things, because how he got to the NFL really doesn’t matter — at least if he doesn’t allow it to matter.
In the end Sanders has the same opportunity to be the Browns quarterback of the future as he would have if they had somehow picked him second overall. Lots of top picks flame out quickly. Lots of late-rounders become stars.
Sanders will compete with Kenny Pickett, who arrives after a season as a backup in Philadelphia, and 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco. (“Flacco’s my age,” Sanders’ father and college coach, Deion, cracked in one released video, which might have been a contributing part of the problem here.) Then there is fellow draftee Dillon Gabriel, coming off a stat-spinning college career, most recently at Oregon.
Why did Cleveland draft Gabriel 94th overall — bypassing Shedeur Sanders — only to trade up later to get Sanders as well? The move suggests that the Browns think Gabriel is better, but the starting job, needless to say, is begging for one of the rookies to take it eventually.
“We felt like it got to a point where [Sanders] was probably mispriced relative to the draft,” general manager Andrew Berry said.
What exactly was Sanders’ “price” relative to the draft? That was the enduring storyline of the weekend. The draft gurus loved Sanders, projecting him as high as No. 3 at various points. Teams felt quite differently.
Why the disconnect?
It’s likely a lot of things. He was good but not great at Colorado. He took too many sacks. He wasn’t an elite athlete — certainly not like his Hall of Fame father.
Then there were reports of poor interviews with team executives, concern over his commitment and the fact he had only played for his dad, who himself made plenty of bold public statements. Sanders dealt with the draft process as if he was a surefire top-10 pick (bypassing the Senior Bowl, for example) which isn’t how the NFL prefers things.
Agree or not, this is how the business works.
Eventually Sanders found himself a multiday cultural touchpoint and eventual punch line. It came complete with Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Atlanta defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, dialing up an NFL-specific contact number and cruelly pretending to be the New Orleans Saints. First, Jax Ulbrich told Sanders that he was about to be drafted, but then he added, “You’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, man.”
“What does that mean?” Sanders said in a video of the call released by his brother.
What does any of it mean?
Really nothing.
Sanders shrugged off the prank just as he shrugged off the slide — “It didn’t really have an impact on me … everybody does childish things here or there,” he said.
Ulbrich later apologized on social media and Sanders took a call from him on Sunday. But no matter how much Sanders brushed it aside, how could that not have stung deeply in the moment? (Yes, other picks have been pranked, but none after days in this kind of media meat grinder.)
This couldn’t have been the NFL entry Sanders expected — at his draft party he had pillows with his brand name “Legendary” printed on them. He can still be that, though.
The draft is a show. The league is about work.
If anything, Sanders got his first dose of tough love. If he wasn’t aware of how hard this was going to be, he should be now. If he wasn’t cognizant of how much work his game needs, he should be now. If he didn’t realize how his answers or actions might have turned some off, he should now.
His flaws were dissected on national television for all to discuss. It can be painful. Or it can be a painful blessing, because a hard worker who knows what to work on can be a powerful, powerful force.
“I’m blessed,” Sanders said, and good on him for that. “I know I have to clean up some things in my game. The main thing is proving [Coach Kevin] Stefanski and Mr. Berry [are] right about picking me.”
From here on out, that’s all that matters. This was a rough chapter in the story of Shedeur Sanders, but the book isn’t yet fully written.
And it is Sanders who still holds the pen.