Shedeur Sanders Makes Candid Admission About His Future in NFL, Compares Himself to Tom Brady

New Browns QB Shedeur Sanders remains confident despite his fifth-round slide, knowing Tom Brady—widely considered the greatest ever—was once a late pick too.

Shedeur Sanders Makes Candid Admission About His Future in NFL, Compares Himself to Tom Brady

Tom Brady and Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Shedeur Sanders has taken Yung Thug’s words to heart after his historical draft slide in Green Bay. The rapper reminded the former Colorado quarterback that Tom Brady was a late-round pick as well.

After day two of rookie camp at the Cleveland Browns CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, reporters flocked to interview Sanders before he left for the dorms. They asked whether he felt a connection with Brady because he was the 199th pick in the draft.

My story is gonna be similar, you know. I was a late-round draft pick, but we are here now. So none of that stuff matters. [It] just mattered on the [draft] day. And it’s exciting being ready to work.  

Shedeur Sanders said

Several teams were linked with Shedeur Sanders before the draft. The New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, and Pittsburgh Steelers were projected as good landing spots for the 23-year-old. However, all of them passed him on multiple occasions, and he eventually slid down to the fifth round. The Browns decided to select him even though they drafted Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel on day two.

The media asked the Browns’ general manager, Andrew Berry, for the reason behind drafting Sanders despite adding Gabriel. Berry revealed that they didn’t necessarily want to draft two quarterbacks, but when they saw Sanders was still available, they couldn’t stop themselves.

We love adding competition to every position room, and adding him to compete with the guys that are already in there, we felt like that was the appropriate thing to do.

Andrew Berry said

Later, seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady sent Shedeur a message. “Use it as motivation. You’re gonna get your chances… go take advantage of it.”

Shedeur Sanders is finding his feet in the Browns’ setup

New environments present new challenges. Jumping from the college game to the NFL isn’t a cakewalk, especially for a player who experienced chaos very early in his life.

Shedeur Sanders makes candid admission about his future in NFL, compares himself to Tom Brady
Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Sanders managed to get in, but he has a daunting challenge ahead of him. Aside from him and Gabriel, the Browns have three other quarterbacks on the roster, eying the same starting job.

The oldest and the likeliest to start for the Browns in week one, Joe Flacco, followed by Deshaun Watson, who is out through an Achilles tear, and Super Bowl LIX winner Kenny Pickett. It means either Gabriel or Sanders will end up on the practice squad.

In life and everything is just me versus me. I can’t control any other decision besides that, so I just try to be my best self.

Shedeur Sanders said via official Cleveland Browns transcript

Sanders sustained a monetary blow by being a first-round pick. But that’s secondary. His main goal is to prove to the Browns coaching staff that they didn’t make a mistake by taking him. His final year record with the Buffaloes proves that Sanders can handle the pressure.

During his senior year at Colorado, Sanders led the FBS in total pass completion percentage (74). He threw 353 completions for 4134 yards, 41 total touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Sanders spent four years in college. The first couple of years at Jackson State and the final two years with the Buffaloes. He played 50 games in college, completing 1263 passes for 14,327 yards (70.1% completion rate), 7.9 yards per throw, 134 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions.

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