Old Deion Sanders tweet drenches Browns-Shedeur Sanders match in irony

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders experienced one of the most unexpected draft day slides in NFL history before the Cleveland Browns mercifully ended his free fall on Day 3. The Browns shipped the No. 166 and No. 192 overall picks to the Seattle Seahawks to trade up and select the Colorado quarterback with the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round on Saturday.

The draft experience is bound to leave emotional scars for Sanders, the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. Once projected to be the top pick in the draft, the elder Sanders watched as his son was passed over by teams time and again. His slide continued pick after pick, round after round and day after day. 

Sanders’ reaction to the selection was one of elation and relief, and he celebrated by dancing with his brother before taking a plunge in the pool. Once the dust settles, the fifth-round pick will have to face the reality of joining a team that has spent decades chewing up and spitting out talented quarterback prospects.

Deion Sanders’ tweet resurfaces after Browns select Shedeur Sanders

While he may not admit to it now, Deion Sanders likely would’ve preferred a different destination for his son. In 2018, the Hall of Fame cornerback expressed concerns about the Browns organization.

“I love what the Browns have done this offseason but if im a young [quarterback] ain't no way im going to Cleveland,” Deion Sanders posted on social media in 2018. “I would pull a ELI MANNING If possible.”

The San Diego Chargers drafted Eli Manning with the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, but the quarterback had made it clear that he did not want to play for the Chargers prior to the selection. Just 45 minutes after making the pick, the Chargers traded Manning to the New York Giants in exchange for quarterback Philip Rivers, who was selected by New York with the No. 4 overall pick.

Manning, however, had something that Sanders lacked: leverage. As the consensus No. 1 overall pick in that year’s draft class, Manning was coveted by enough teams to make some demands. Sanders, on the other hand, was the sixth passer selected in a relatively weak quarterback class, and Cleveland also selected Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round before coming back for Sanders. 

As a fifth-round pick, Sanders isn’t exactly in a position to be selective about where he plays during his rookie contract. Cleveland may not be the ideal landing spot, but the Sanders family likely would’ve accepted any destination by the time the fifth round began. 

While there is reason to celebrate the accomplishment of being drafted, Sanders faces an uphill battle to establish himself as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Along with Gabriel, Sanders will have to compete in a quarterback room that includes veteran Joe Flacco, fourth-year passer Kenny Pickett and — of course — Deshaun Watson. 

The Browns are unlikely to carry more than three quarterbacks on their roster, and Watson’s contract may make it difficult to move on. That could leave Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders fighting for two available roster spots.