Deion Sanders assumed his son would be a high first-round pick, and he approached the draft that way. He had Shedeur sit out the Senior Bowl. Shedeur attended, but didn’t throw. He was at the NFL Combine for interviews, but once again didn’t throw.

One NFL scout told ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi he was "surprised but not shocked" to see Shedeur Sanders fall into the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft after an underwhelming predraft process. "I did expect him to have a better spring," the AFC area scout told Oyefusi. "I heard he had some rough interviews, and the pro day was average."

When Shedeur Sanders finally got the call -- not the prank call, but the real call from the Browns -- Cleveland had already taken a quarterback in this year's NFL Draft. The Browns took Dillon Gabriel in the third round and their quarterback room also includes Deshaun Watson,