Shedeur Sanders' Journey to the NFL

Three days after his unexpected fall to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL draft, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was back to work in his new NFL home. Sanders, who had made his way from Canton, Texas, where he watched the draft, to Cleveland, stood on a hill wearing a black T-shirt, gray shorts, and a pair of Nike Air DT Max '96s. In a clip posted to X, Sanders shuffled sideways up the incline, as if defending a ball handler in a basketball game, before pivoting and sprinting toward the top of the hill.

Days later, on a blue, indoor practice field located in a west Cleveland suburb, Sanders, in a white, long-sleeve shirt and black shorts, called for an under-center handoff with a commanding cadence and rolled to his left before launching passes to a group of volunteer pass catchers as music blasted throughout the training facility.

The Road Ahead for Sanders

These individual workouts -- away from the crowds and cameras -- were the preamble to Sanders' next professional milestone, set to take place the following week: his first NFL practice. On Friday, the first steppingstone of Sanders' pro career will unfold when the Browns hold a three-day rookie minicamp. The former Colorado star will be joined by his fellow draftmates and a host of undrafted rookies and tryout players aiming to begin -- and in some instances maintain -- their careers with a strong showing.

Sanders will arrive at the camp with an outsized spotlight for a fifth-round pick. His celebrity upbringing as the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, transformative success at two college football programs, and then a surprising fall from potential top pick to Day 3 selection have only added to the intrigue surrounding him.

Challenges and Opportunities

In Cleveland, a franchise that hasn't had a Pro Bowl quarterback since Derek Anderson in 2007, Sanders is expected to receive an opportunity to compete for the starting job. But he will have to overcome a number of challenges to emerge as QB1 this fall -- most notably a crowded quarterbacks room, a tendency to take ill-advised sacks, and a draft slot that has a poor track record of producing successful quarterbacks, let alone Week 1 starters.

Sanders, though, is embracing the road ahead. "I'm a Sanders," he said after he was selected 144th overall in the draft, "so it's always going to be expectations regardless of what pick I am."

Historical Context

Shedeur Sanders is attempting a feat only Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has accomplished in the past 15 years -- parlaying a Day 3 draft slot into becoming a franchise's Week 1 starter as a rookie. He's also trying to do something only four men have done since 1967: doing it as a fifth-round or later selection. But although history isn't on Sanders' side, his unique situation in Cleveland -- with a lack of clarity within the Browns' QB room -- and his talent relative to his draft slot could set the stage for him to buck the trend.

Conclusion

When Sanders takes the field at the Browns' practice facility for the first time Friday, he won't do so as the face of the franchise but as a late-round pick whose draft status signals he'll have to thoroughly outplay his competition to emerge as a starter or top backup in the coming months. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said that practice reps might not be spread out equally among the quarterbacks but that he'll divide them up in a way that is "fair to each player and fair to the team."