Shedeur Sanders On His Mindset After 2025 NFL Draft Experience And His Approach To Rookie Season

Shedeur Sanders is looking forward to getting his career started with the Cleveland Browns.

The highly touted quarterback obviously took a well-known drop in the 2025 NFL Draft, going from a projected first-round draft pick — some anticipated he would be picked No. 3 overall — all the way down to the fifth round as the 144th overall pick.

Despite the drop, Sanders is keeping a positive outlook and knows he has to work and prove himself as a rookie quarterback on the Browns roster.

“Nah, it’s just about proving myself right,” says Sanders when asked if he’s using the fall in the draft as motivation in a one-on-one interview. “It’s just going out there being the best teammate, being the rook to all the vet guys for sure. I definitely have to bring Joe Flacco some snacks. Talking to Deshaun (Watson) about what he wants, but I definitely have to bring him and Kenny (Pickett) some snacks.”

Sanders has the benefit of having learned from his dad, Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. The younger Sanders obviously learned a lot from his dad, having played under him with the Colorado Buffaloes.

It was at Colorado that father and son lifted the program from an afterthought into one of the most-watched teams in the nation. In fact, the Buffaloes became a contender and finished in the top 25 during the 2024 season, the first time since the 2016 season they’ve ended the year ranked.

The younger Sanders says his advice from his dad as he begins his NFL career is simple: work.

The 23-year-old Sanders recently went through rookie minicamp where he was able to work with head coach Kevin Stefanski for the first time.

“Coach is cool for sure,” says Sanders of Stefanski. “He wants the best for you. He expects greatness out of you.”

Sanders wouldn’t detail the conversations that he and Stefanski have had so far, preferring to keep things “in house” especially early on in the relationship.

“We definitely keep everything in house for the most part, especially early on in our relationship,” says Sanders of his and Stefanski’s relationship. “I like to just keep everything in house until you know the comfort level and the trust level is fully there.”

The expectations are obviously vastly different now compared to prior to the draft when Sanders was widely regarded as the second-best quarterback prospect behind consensus No. 1 pick Cam Ward. The Cleveland Browns were initially slotted to pick at No. 2 before trading down in the draft and some had predicted them to pick Sanders with their first-round pick.

Instead, Sanders ended up being the sixth quarterback selected and will have to compete with Dillon Gabriel — who was selected in the third round — for a roster spot and for position on the depth chart. That’s not even mentioning the Browns’ three other veteran quarterbacks in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Deshaun Watson (who is currently injured).

“Camp was fun, it was heartbreaking,” says Sanders. “The players that weren’t able to make the team for sure, for the tryout players, it was definitely heartbreaking. There’s a lot of good relationships and a lot of people I just feel for.”

Sanders says he’s already had conversations with the 40-year-old Flacco, a Super Bowl champion and NFL Comeback Player of the Year who previously led the Browns to the postseason back in 2023. The rookie quarterback says he will “for sure” lean on Flacco for advice as he goes through his rookie season.

“Yes, I’ve definitely had conversations,” says Sanders of his relationship with Flacco. “I’ve asked him what he thinks about different things. He’s played the game for a long time. He sees things in certain ways. I just asked him, ‘What does he think? What’s his perspective?'”

Early reports indicate that Gabriel had outperformed Sanders in rookie minicamp, according to ESPN’s Tony Grossi. However, that isn’t necessarily a knock as the 24-year-old Gabriel started for six years and a football bowl Subdivision-record 63 games in college. It’s also worth mentioning that Sanders put “better spin” on his deep balls compared to his shorter routes, according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.

Sanders also played “clean ball” in the two practices open to the media according to Cabot, whereas Gabriel threw two interceptions.

The Browns will start their organized team activities at the end of the month. We’ll see where Sanders ultimately ends up on the depth chart by the time the season starts, but he’s definitely on the right track to start things off.

Shedeur Sanders Partners With Panini At NFLPA Rookie Premiere Event

Following the conclusion of Browns rookie minicamp, the All-American quarterback made an appearance at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles, which introduces first-year players to the business side of things.

Sanders was among the top NIL earners while in college with an NIL valuation of $5.1 million during the 2024 season, the top earner on the list.

While at the premiere, Sanders talked about his partnership with Panini, the exclusive trading card partner of the NFL.

“It’s truly amazing,” says Sanders of seeing his pro card for the first time. “I gotta make sure that card works, stays up, stays high by producing on the field.”

Sanders says he actually didn’t collect his dad’s trading cards growing up — Deion played 14 years in the NFL, with his final season in 2005 when Shedeur was three years old — but he learned from his father how to sign autographs the proper way.

“I didn’t really grow up collecting his trading cards,” says Sanders of his dad. “But I’ve seen him sign and then that’s what basically gave me the history of it, and then my dad showed me how to do autographs at a young age. So it all fell into place the right way.”