Why the Browns stopped Shedeur Sanders’ slide, and what he needs to fix in the NFL

Shedeur Sanders finally came off the board in the fifth round to the Cleveland Browns

One of the most polarizing players in the entire 2025 NFL Draft class finally has a home.

And it took a longer than expected to learn his destination. A lot longer.

Shedeur Sanders slid out of the first round on Thursday night, falling to Day Two of the 2025 NFL Draft. But the slide did not stop there. Sanders was not drafted on Friday night, sliding all the way to the fifth round.

Where the slide finally ended.

The Cleveland Browns, despite passing on Sanders multiple times and drafting Dillon Gabriel on Friday night, made the Colorado quarterback at No. 144, early in the fifth round.

Sanders’ pre-draft process involved an incredible amount of debate in the media space, as it seemed like any possible outcome was on the table for the Colorado QB. There were times it seemed like he would be the second player drafted, then there were times it looked like he might fall out of the first round entirely, which he eventually did.

Now we finally know where he is starting his NFL career.

Here is what stands out in his game, and a major area he needs to improve.

Excelling at job one

There are many aspects to high-level quarterback play. But you can potentially distill the job into one core mantra.

Can you put the football where it needs to be, when it needs to be there?

Of course, many elements go into answering that question, such as the ability to diagnose a defense, but accuracy is a necessary trait. If the quarterback cannot put the football where it needs to be, success for the offense will be hard to come by.

Then there is the delineation between general accuracy and ball placement. A good throw is one that the receiver can catch — this is general accuracy. But a better throw is one that either the receiver can catch while in stride and turn into a big gain, or perhaps one that shields the receiver away from the leverage of the nearest defender.

That is ball placement.

Sanders excels at both.

His combination of general accuracy, and elite-level ball placement, stands out in this class. For example, Cory Kinnan, who does tremendous work charting quarterbacks, had this to say in his analysis of Sanders: “Sanders’ Weighted On-Target Percentage of 73.26 percent makes him one of the most accurate quarterbacks I’ve ever charted. Among every quarterback I’ve charted over the last three years, only Jayden Daniels has a higher Weighted On-Target Percentage, and by just one percent.”

Kinnan did not stop there.

“Sanders is not only the most accurate quarterback in this year’s class by a wide margin, but he is one of the most accurate quarterbacks I’ve ever charted,” continues Kinnan. “While Sanders’ physical tools may be average-to-slightly above average, and while he has to continue to work on his already improved pocket work, the ball placement and accuracy is undeniable. Just give your guy a chance. Sanders does that better than anyone else in this quarterback class.”

Sanders’ accuracy and ball placement stand out on film as well.

Take this play against Utah, as Sanders throws a safety-splitter against a Cover 2 look (click the embed if you can’t view the video):

Note: For those reading on Apple News you will need to click the link to see the included clips.

What I love about this throw is the ball placement. Sanders leads the receiver away from the nearest defender, the split safety on the right side of the field. Sanders’ film is filled with examples of the quarterback knowing exactly where the nearest threat is, and leading his receiver away from danger. That is how you create big plays in an offense ... and how you make friends in the locker room as a QB.

This next example, a deep shot against a Cover 2 look from Kansas State, highlights Sanders’ accuracy down the field. Watch as he puts this throw in the perfect spot, throwing from the left hashmark to the right sideline:

You cannot throw this route any better than Sanders does in this example.

This next play is a touchdown pass to Travis Hunter Jr. against UCF, coming on a Bang-8 post route. Sanders knows a safety is lurking in the middle of the field, so watch as he throttles Hunter down, putting this throw on his frame rather than leading him to danger:

In-breaking routes are often meant to be thrown on the frame, as low as possible, to avoid a big collision. Sanders does that to perfection here.

Here is another example of Sanders understanding the leverage of the defender, and leading his receiver open. On this play against Oklahoma State Sanders throws a slot fade to the right side of the formation, and with the defender shaded to the inside, Sanders leads his WR to open space outside the numbers:

Simply lovely, to borrow a phrase from Max Verstappen.

While many of these examples have come on throws outside the hashmarks, or even outside the numbers, Sanders is not afraid to challenge a defense over the middle. This is perhaps where his ball placement shines the most. Take this example against Texas Tech, where he splits a pair of underneath defenders using velocity, anticipation, and ball placement:

Or this throw against Baylor, where he again throttles down his receiver because he knows the backside safety is lurking, waiting to deliver a big hit:

Sanders is a ball placement specialist, and that is often job one for a QB.

It is a job he does extremely well.

Can he decline the invitation?

The biggest question when it comes to Sanders: Can he decline the invitation?

What I mean by that is this. Sanders faced a ton of pressure in the pocket. Last year alone he was sacked 42 times, which was actually an improvement over the 52 sacks he endured during the 2023 campaign. He indeed played behind an offensive line that struggled to protect him at times, and not all of those 94 sacks were of his creation.

But some of them were.

There were certainly moments at Colorado where Sanders invited the pressure, and it became something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is a school of thought that “pressure is production” for a defense, the “body blow” theory that the more you pressure a quarterback, the more they begin to feel pressure, whether real or perceived.

That certainly crept into Sanders’ game.

Take this play against Nebraska, a game where he was sacked five times:

There is a window for Sanders to throw this in-breaking route on the right side of the field. But instead of letting the ball fly, he hesitates in the pocket. The reason? Likely the pass rusher starting to break through the interior of the offensive line. Rather than making this throw, Sanders starts to feel that pressure, anticipating a need to extend the play with his legs rather than making an anticipation throw.

The result? A sack, and a loss of 11 yards. A 1st-and-10 situation turns into 2nd and 21, and there are not many plays in the playbook for that down-and-distance scenario.

On this play against Colorado State, watch how quickly Sanders pulls this ball down and turns from a passer into a runner:

This is a mirrored curl/flat concept, with a deep curl route as well as a route to the flat on both sides of the field. The two curl routes are open — particularly the curl to the left side of the field — but Sanders never gives them a chance, immediately pulling this ball down and turning into a scrambler.

He slides down for a minimal gain, but that is on a Saturday against Colorado State. What happens on an NFL Sunday?

One final example, on this play against Baylor:

When we talk about a quarterback making anticipation throws, this is a prime example. Sanders has the post-corner route on the left side breaking open. If he lets this throw go with a bit of anticipation, the Buffaloes have a big play.

Instead, he hesitates. While he does try and climb the pocket, the hesitation invites the pressure off the edge, and the potential big play instead goes into the books as a sack.

Landing spot is critical for Sanders. Now that we know where he is going to start his NFL career, we can start to piece together how his rookie season will unfold. But by sliding to the fifth round, the expectations will be very different for Sanders as he acclimates to life in the NFL.

Of course, the bigger part to the story here is why else Sanders fell to the fifth round. The film and playing style is part of the story, but in the days and weeks to come, more will emerge about how Sanders handled the pre-draft process.

But between the lines, this is what he does well, and where he needs to improve.