Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is participating in the team’s rookie minicamp Friday, looking to gain an edge in a tightly contested quarterback competition. A former Browns player said the fifth-round pick might have been in a different situation if he were more like his brother.
During a discussion about Sanders on ESPN’s “Dan Lebatard Show with Stugatz” on Friday, NFL analyst and former Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins said that Sanders and his defensive back brother Shilo Sanders, who went undrafted, could have been taken early under one, impossible-to-change condition.
“I have a theory that if Shilo Sanders and Shedeur Sanders swapped personalities, they both would have been drafted in the first two rounds because Shedeur has a defensive back’s personality, and you can’t have that at the quarterback position,” Hawkins said.
“He is the closest thing to his father in personality, saying, ‘Hey, I don’t care about what’s going on,” Hawkins said. “If it ain’t for me, then it ain’t for me. I’m going out there and play.’ When you’re looking for a leader for a team and in a locker room, that’s a tough personality to have because so many other factors also need to be at their best for you to be at your best.”
Sanders completed 74% of his passes (353 of 477) for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions at Colorado last season. Despite those numbers, he was the sixth quarterback selected in the draft and the second taken by the Browns after Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel was picked in the third round. Sanders faced criticism for his pre-draft interviews with teams, including the Giants, where he was deemed “cocky.” Sanders was also accused of denying interviews with teams in positions that were not favorable to him.
Hawkins said the bravado Sanders has shown would have worked for Shilo, who went undrafted but eventually signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“As a defensive back on an island, we could be down 50-0, and if I stop this guy from catching the ball, I’m him and I’m getting a big contract for it,” Hawkins said. “That’s not really how the quarterback position works. I think that demeanor is one factor that hurt Shedeur in how he handled the process and answered some of the questions because they were much like you’d expect Deion to answer.”
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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.