Eagles nearly pulled off Shedeur Sanders coup before Browns swooped in

The Cleveland Browns finally put an end to Shedeur Sanders' unprecedented NFL Draft slide on Saturday afternoon, selecting him with the 144th pick in the fifth round. He joins the league's most ridiculous QB room alongside fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, as well as veterans Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson.

Say what you will about Cleveland's overindulgence at the position or Sanders' well-documented off-field concerns, but this is tremendous value. He was, at worst, a second-round talent with first-round upside, having completed 74.0 percent of his passes for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his final campaign with Colorado.

Sanders' lack of elite measurables or arm talent evidently inhibited his stock in NFL circles — not to mention a cursed pre-draft process that saw him massively overestimate his own leverage. That said, he brings incredible touch, accuracy and toughness to a wide-open Browns QB room. There's a world in which he's starting by the end of the season and we've all forgotten this nonsense.

That said, Sanders almost wound up in a completely different situation. The Browns traded up to No. 144, notably jumping ahead of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at No. 145. Apparently, the Eagles were interested in the 23-year-old with their own fifth-round selection, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Eagles almost ended Shedeur Sanders' NFL Draft slide before Browns trade-up

This is such a fascinating what-if. We know Howie Roseman values, well, value. He's the king of taking best player available. That normally means selecting an SEC pass-rusher that inexplicably tumbles in the first round (see: Carter, Jalen and Campbell, Jihaad), but it also means taking the first-round QB talent in the fifth round, "fit" or "need" be damned.

We've seen Roseman cycle through backup QB options over the years, trading for Kenny Pickett, then trading Pickett for Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Before that, it was Marcus Mariota, a former top pick tabbed to relieve Hurts.

After spending months talking about Sanders as a potential top-3 pick to bad teams with open voids at quarterback, it would've been difficult for folks to recalibrate expectations in Philadelphia. That would've put Sanders on the reigning Super Bowl champs — and the current odds-on favorites to win the Super Bowl in 2026. Rather than entering training camp with a chance to claim the starting role, Sanders would've profiled exclusively as Jalen Hurts' backup.

Hurts, the Super Bowl MVP and a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, should have no worries about his job security. That said, his contract can expire after the 2027 campaign, within the scope of Sanders' rookie deal. The more vociferous Hurts skeptics will dub him a system QB — a product of Philadelphia's elite offensive line and a loaded pass-catching corps.

There's a world in which Sanders could've been a candidate to take the baton from Hurts a few years down the road, assuming the latter's production plateaus. Sanders fits a more traditional QB archetype, throwing with confidence and poise from the pocket. With Philadelphia's penchant for stockpiling talent across the board, Sanders couldn't ask for a better supporting cast.

It's such a compelling hypothetical. Instead, Sanders joins a notoriously bad organization with the NFL's deepest (and somehow worst) QB room. He has a better chance of playing sooner in Cleveland, but can he win football games with the Browns? Can he develop good habits and establish a strong baseline for his career? That much is less clear.

Sanders in Philly would've been a buzz-worthy outcome, but he's stuck in the midwest for now. Time will tell if this was a better destination or not for the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.