NFL Draft fallout: Shedeur Sanders slide not a ‘shock,’ ex-NFL star says

Shedeur Sanders’ historic free fall in the NFL Draft last week came as a shock to many, but not to former NFL star Eddie George. 

Sanders was thought by most NFL Draft experts to be picked in the first round, which is why so many NFL fans and analysts alike were surprised that he fell to the fifth round. 

“I didn’t think it was a bit of a shock. I thought that the NFL spoke, the draft spoke and said, ‘Hey, we don’t have a first-round grade on this kid’ and that’s OK,” George said during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.”

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Colorado Buffalos quarterback Shedeur Sanders looks on prior to the game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)

“I know a lot of people thought that he was the first three picks and so forth. He’s a phenomenal talent, but when you do your due diligence, and you vet these kids out, and you have the combine, you have the personal interviews, some things come out that are consistent. And was consistent was that they felt that he wasn’t a starting quarterback right now.”

The Cleveland Browns, despite taking Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel with their third-round pick, selected Sanders with their fifth-round pick, the 144th overall pick in the NFL Draft. 

George said that Sanders’ draft slide will turn into his “finest hour.”

“I think this will be Shedeur’s finest hour. He has an opportunity now to go and compete for the job and show people that, hey, you missed out on a big opportunity. You know, I tell kids all the time it’s not how you start in the NFL, it’s how you finish. So he got his foot in the door, he got drafted, he’s got an opportunity to compete. Now it’s up to him to show and prove people wrong how they missed out on him,” George said.

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A graphic announcing Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ selection by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick is seen in the Draft Theater during the third day of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field on April 25, 2025. (Tork Mason/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

The Browns currently have five quarterbacks on their roster but have no clear starting quarterback. Deshaun Watson re-ruptured his Achilles tendon in January after he underwent surgery on that same tendon in October 2024, and his status for the upcoming season is in doubt. 

The Browns acquired Kenny Pickett in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles and signed Joe Flacco to a one-year contract prior to the NFL Draft. With the additions of Gabriel and Sanders to an already packed quarterback room, it remains to be seen who will get the Week 1 nod. 

George coached against Sanders last season with Tennessee State and said the former Colorado star can “spin it.”

“I know the type of man he is, I know the cloth he is cut from. I know a lot of people figure that he is arrogant and not serious, but I had the opportunity to coach against that kid and he can spin it. He can put the ball places that where he knows to go with the football. He has a very high football IQ, and he has to build on that at the next level.”

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Former NFL player Eddie George signs a football for the fans during the second half of the game between the East and the West at AT&T Stadium on Jan. 30, 2025. (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)

George had a nine-year NFL career as a running back. He spent eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans and one with the Dallas Cowboys. George won offensive rookie of the year and was named to the Pro-Bowl team four times, while he was a first-team All-Pro once. 

He rushed for 10,441 yards and 68 touchdowns in his career. 

George was hired by Bowling Green in March after he spent the last four seasons as the head coach at Tennessee State. He was named the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year in 2024. 

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