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Shedeur Sanders’ long wait finally came to an end on Saturday afternoon.
The Cleveland Browns traded up in the fifth round to select Sanders. Shortly after learning his NFL career would begin in Cleveland, Sanders shared a short but emotional message on X: “Thank you GOD.”
Deion Sanders, Shedeurs’ father and the Colorado Buffaloes’ head coach, previously offered some advice to aspiring NFL quarterbacks. Sanders’ message pertained to the Browns, and it began recirculating shortly after his son was drafted by the very same franchise.
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“I love what the @Browns have done this offseason but if im a young QB ain’t no way im going to Cleveland. I would pull a ELI MANNING If possible,” Sanders wrote in a March 2018 social media post.
Manning had been projected to be the top pick in 2004, and the Chargers had the No. 1 pick. But the franchise was gaining a reputation as a destination young quarterbacks should avoid. Manning’s agent reportedly informed the Chargers that his client would sit out the entire season if the team were to draft him. Manning’s family reportedly got involved, and the quarterback was drafted and traded to the New York Giants.
Deion previously declared, “It’s going to be an Eli” when explaining how Shedeur and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter would handle the draft. He later clarified that he would not attempt to “orchestrate” where his son fell in this draft.
“No, because that’s not God’s will right now. I want Shedeur to do what he’s consistently done — excel against all odds,” the Colorado football coach said in March during an appearance on “The Skip Bayless Show.”
“I like the hating. I like the naysaying. I like the ignorance, because it makes us feel better about what we do. It gives him another chip on his shoulder.”
The Browns used the No. 1 overall pick on quarterback Baker Mayfield the month after Sanders’ aforementioned 2018 social media post.
This isn’t the first time one of Sanders’ social media posts failed to age favorably.
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Last May, Coach Prime declared that his son would “be a top 5 pick.”
“He will be a top 5 pick. Where yo son going ? Lololol I got time today. Lololol,” Sanders wrote on X on May 1, 2024. The post now features a note saying, “Shedeur Sanders was not a top 5 draft pick.”
At the time, Sanders was responding to a comment that mentioned Colorado’s 2023 record — the father-son duo’s first year in Boulder. “Tell yo son stop act like he the coldest out here then put up a 4-8 season,” the initial post read.
Sanders finished the 2024 season with 4,134 passing yards. He will join a crowded quarterback room in Cleveland that features Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel.
Watson then re-injured his Achilles tendon in January. The latest setback is widely expected to sideline the three-time Pro Bowler for the entire 2025 season, although Watson pushed back against that timetable. Flacco reunited with the Browns earlier this month after spending the 2024 season with the Indianapolis Colts. Cleveland acquired Pickett in a trade with the Eagles in March.
The Browns passed on Sanders in the third round on Friday and instead used the No. 94 pick on Gabriel.
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