Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III has a fascinating theory on why Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders unexpectedly fell in the draft last week.
In what may go down as the most stunning quarterback fall in NFL Draft history, Shedeur Sanders wasn’t selected until round five (No. 144 overall) by the Cleveland Browns. This came after months of widespread projections that Sanders would be a top-10 pick, or at least a late first-rounder.
As hard as it is to believe now, some early 2025 projections had Sanders being the No. 1 pick. Of course, that honor belonged to Miami product Cam Ward.
During the latest episode of his “Outta Pocket with RGIII” show, Griffin had a compelling take on why Shedeur Sanders fell in the draft. The 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year thinks that NFL teams wanted to teach Shedeur and Deion Sanders “a lesson,” and that the quarterback’s fall was “personal.”
Here’s what Griffin said:
“Shedeur Sanders should not have dropped out of the first three rounds of the NFL draft. He dropped out of the first three rounds of the NFL draft because it’s 100% personal. NFL GMs, scouts, and the NFL at large are trying to teach Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders a lesson. A lesson that they didn’t teach the Mannings when Eli said he wasn’t going to play in San Diego, a lesson that they did not teach Andrew Luck and his family when he was the perennial No. 1 draft pick from the time he was a freshman in college, a lesson that they did not teach Baker Mayfield when he came out of Oklahoma, and a message that they did not teach Joe Burrow when he came out of LSU.
“So what do I mean by all of that? What I mean is that all of these guys had the confidence, many of them had the bravado that is similar to what Shedeur Sanders has. But none of them were punished in the way he’s been punished.”
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In the months leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, Deion Sanders frequently spoke about which teams he wanted to draft his son. Perhaps other NFL clubs were also worried about the media circus that would have followed if they drafted Shedeur, similar to what the Cleveland Browns went through when they picked future bust Johnny Manziel in 2014.
Shedeur Sanders Joins A Crowded Cleveland QB Room
It was even a surprise when the Browns took Sanders in the fifth round, since they had used the No. 94 pick in round three on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Gabriel and Sanders join a Cleveland quarterback room that also features offseason trade acquisition Kenny Pickett, 2023 Comeback Player of the Year Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson, who may miss all of 2025 recovering from a torn Achilles.
Also Read: Patrick Mahomes Had The Perfect 1-Word Reaction To Shedeur Sanders Going Undrafted
