ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. Ranked Shedeur Sanders as his top quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft class.
That made the three days of the draft, in which the Colorado QB fell all the way to the fifth round and pick No. 144 by the Cleveland Browns, feel that much weirder.
On the broadcast, there was just this constant reminder that Sanders remained Kiper's best player available.
And at the time, it was shocking for many.
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Sanders had been a legitimately good quarterback at Colorado. He completed 74% of his passes in 2024.
Sure, he had flaws, but so do most draft prospects. Almost every major draft analyst had Sanders expected to go in the first round.
So when Sanders made it all the way to day three of the draft, it was shocking.
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But now, that feels a little bit different.
Sanders didn't complete 74% of his passes in his NFL debut on Sunday for the Browns against the Ravens, when he entered in relief of Dillon Gabriel (concussion).
It was just a 25% completion rate for Sanders, 4-for-16. He was intercepted once and sacked twice.
It makes the whole saga feel different.
Sanders can still rewrite his NFL narrative, of course. But this first stanza has changed things.
No longer does the NFL Draft free fall feel inexplicable. Instead, it looks a lot more reasonable.
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