Perhaps the best way to describe how Shedeur Sanders fell to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round is that his talent was actually that of a second-rounder but the other stuff caused him to fall much more. His handling of interviews, the circus around him at Colorado, and so on have all been widely reported. At a certain point, though, a team like the Browns couldn't afford not to take the plunge and gamble on the talented quarterback. Luckily for them, his start at rookie minicamp is exactly what they'd want to see.
Sanders arrived at Browns minicamp on Thursday and, while all eyes will be on him and how he performs, especially in comparison to fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, it was more notable what we didn't see.
The team posted a video to social media of Sanders's arrival at camp. There wasn't a scene of Sanders showing up in one of his luxury automobiles that we saw at Colorado. Frankly, there was absolutely no pomp and circumstance around him at all. Instead, it looked like a rookie showing up with his bag ready to work and earn his spot — which is everything the Browns could want from the young signal-caller.
Shedeur Sanders gives Browns the first impression they needed
The fascinating part about Sanders and Gabriel in rookie minicamp and in the Browns quarterback room at large is that, despite being taken two rounds later than the Oregon product, Sanders is the more talented of the two. He also has more NFL tools as well. Thus, based on the skill alone, the former Colorado star would be the better option to lead Cleveland's offense should they turn to a rookie.
Where Sanders and Gabriel differ, however, is that the latter was lauded for his professionalism and leadership in the pre-draft process. The lack thereof with Sanders, in part, led to his plummeting draft stock.
As such, it was said from the moment that the pick was announced that it was on Sanders to prove that part of himself to the Browns. He needed to come into minicamp and every workout ready to earn his spot and, potentially, earn the job over Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco. Showing up looking like he's ready to work is quite literally the first step in that, and he's taken that based on what the Browns showed us.
This won't be the last we'll see of Sanders in minicamp as his every move is sure to spark some kind of reaction. However, if it continues to look like what we saw from his arrival in Browns camp, then the narrative around this could turn from Cleveland stopping the quarterback's fall in the draft to celebrating the organization for their gamble turning into a heist.