The 2025 NFL draft did not go as Shedeur Sanders intended for it to go, as he fell all the way to the fifth round before the Cleveland Browns eventually selected him with the No. 144 pick. Despite that, he's already drawn a comparison to Tom Brady from one of his former teammates, LeSean McCoy.
Like Sanders, Brady fell in the 2000 NFL draft before he eventually got scooped up by the New England Patriots. As we all now know, Brady would go on to win seven Super Bowls, while also winning three MVP Awards too. Simply put, he's widely considered the greatest player in NFL history.
Comparing Sanders to Brady before he's even taken a snap at the professional level is a risk, and yet, there's one area where McCoy sees similarities between the two. He noted Sanders' work ethic, comparing the amount of time he spends at the team's facilities to that of Brady.
"Don't let the jewelry and the music and the swagger fool you, he a hard worker," McCoy said on "The Facility." "First thing the head coach said, 'Hey, he's the first one in the building, he's the last to leave.' Sound like someone else I know, his name was Brady."
"He's the 1st in the building, last to leave. Sounds like someone I know: Tom Brady."@CutOnDime25 on why it's time for the QB1 talk with Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/QR2YsSbvv4
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) May 26, 2025
Only so much weight can be put into what we've seen from Sanders to this point, but the building blocks to success are being put in place, which is the first step he needed to take after going from a first-round prospect to a Day 3 pick. It means nothing, though, if he can't build off of it at the end of the day.
In a wide-open quarterback race, Sanders could win the starting gig if he shines during training camp and preseason play. He's going to have to keep putting in the work behind the scenes, or else McCoy's comparison to Brady will end up looking foolish.