BEREA, Ohio — Since Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders tumbled down the NFL draft like Alice in Wonderful down the rabbit hole, he’s become almost a cult hero with an enormous social media following and all eyes in the NFL upon him.
President Donald Trump called out NFL teams mid-draft for letting him to slip to the fifth round, where the Browns rescued him from the undrafted scrap heap, and Tom Brady — the G.O.A.T. — texted him on Day 2 of the draft with a some sage advice. Rumors swirled at a Cavs playoff game that Sanders would get the honors of yanking the sword out of the C in pre-game.
New Pope Leo XIV hasn’t weighed in on Sanders’ epic slide yet, but he’s still getting acclimated to the new job.
“I was truly thankful,” Sanders said on Day 2 of Browns rookie minicamp of Trump’s pleas. “I was truly thankful for it. Including him, it was a lot of fans, a lot of people in barbershops, a lot of hairstylists. There was a lot of just fans of me and of my craft and of my family that was there to support. So I was just thankful that I have that foundation overall just as people and we all could come together as one.”
As for his takeaway from the encouraging text from Brady, who went No. 199 overall but became the greatest QB of all time, Sanders said, “That my story’s going to be similar. I was a late round draft pick, but we’re here now, so none of that stuff matters. That just mattered on the day and I’m just excited to be here and ready to work.
He was asked why he thinks he’s so immensely popular - almost Johnny Football proportions these day.
**“**Why do you think?” he asked the reporter.
“You’re likeable?” the reporter posed.
“Well, yeah, I guess that’s what it is,” he said. “I just be myself every day. I can’t control what’s external. I can’t even control what’s internal.”
So how does he block out all the noise? On the first two days of camp, his every pass was scrutinized, and he was stacked up against third-round QB Dillon Gabriel in every way possible.
But Sanders was born in the Prime Time spotlight, to his famous Hall of Fame dad and former coach Deion Sanders, and he was built for this. All of the Sanders are.
“By doing what my dad raised me to do since I was like five years old,” Sanders said. “I’ve seen it. I’ve seen what he was able to do and I have a lot of great resources and mentors to keep me on the right track. And especially coming to this building, we have great coaches in the building able to keep me focused, keep me in a straight and narrow line.”
Besides, half the smoke he gets comes because of his flashy, sparkly, vocal former two-sport ultra famous father.
“99% of the hatred is towards pops and then I’m just his son, so it really just comes from that,” Sanders said. “And I’ve told him that too, but it just comes from him.”
Sanders has said and done all of the right things since the Browns threw him the lifeline on Day 3 of the draft, including visit local high schools, being the last player off the field after rookie minicamp practices, and acing his first podium interview with flying colors.
“I’m just thankful for an opportunity,” he said. “Things could have been a lot worse, but I’m here smiling in front of you all at this facility right now.
“I just find something I want to perfect and just perfect it to the best of my abilities and that’s all I really focus on. Just being there, just being a leader, being a great teammate, doing what I need to do whenever it is.”
The draft-day tumble — largest in NFL draft history for a quarterback — could’ve crumbled a lesser man, wiped the ubiquitous megawatt smile off his face, taken the shine off the bling around his neck, and tempered the spring in his step. But not Sanders. Even though the slide cost him megamillions and few rungs on the depth chart, he’s looking on the bright side.
“You’ve just got to step back and look at life, like, you’re in a great situation overall that you’re able to be healthy,” he said. “That’s one thing going through even with my brother, going through an injury and with my pops and everybody in the family, you value life and you value opportunity and just waking up every day a different way. So that’s kind of why it’s nothing for me to really, no matter what in any situation, I can’t really be phased by it.
“It’s like playing quarterback. You go down there, you may have not scored the whole game or whatever, but then when it gets to that final two minutes and it’s time to lock in extra, you can’t be in your feelings. You can’t be down about anything. You still got another chance.”
It’s the same message he delivered to kids at John Marshall High and Berea-Midpark over the past two weeks.
“I just answer whatever they need me to answer,” Sanders said. “But the most question they asked me was just like, how is it mentally going through all this? And I just told ‘em it’s just like playing quarterback so I can’t be phased by it.”
Sanders said his dealing with Gabriel so far have been “Cool. Normal. Yeah, it’s been normal. He’s a real cool guy overall. You could tell, he always has a great mood, he’s always in a good mood -- I’ve only been around him two days though -- but he always has a great mood. But overall I can tell he is a pretty good person.”
As for the competition he’s facing, not just with Gabriel, but with Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco that will begin Monday when the rookies join the veterans, he’s not pitting himself against the others in the room.
“I just feel like in life and everything, it’s just me vs. me,” he said. “I can’t control any other decision besides that. So I just try to be my best self at all times.”
As for how Gabriel must feel with Sanders stealing the spotlight, he said, “I just live in my own perspective. I don’t live in other people’s perspective of how somebody would feel over anything. I don’t feel any type of way as a person in anybody’s situation. If it’s something I like, it’s something I respect it. I don’t have any type of negativity or hate in my thought process. So I don’t know how to answer that question truthfully.”
For his part, Gabriel, who went first again in 11-on-11s, 7-on-7s and red zone drills on Day 2, isn’t getting caught up on the competition either.
“For me, life of simplicity is a life full of focus,” he said. “Life of complexity comes with life with distractions. But for me, I’m focused. I’m simple. I know what I want to accomplish.”
As for the Browns drafting Sanders, he said, “I love it. I love it because of who it is. I think just for us both, you can learn from one another. But also it’s not just us two in the room. At least for right now it is. But going into the year, Kenny, Joe, and even Deshaun, just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of ball that we can all learn from one another.”
With some observers swearing that Sanders “won” Day 1 and others insisting it was Gabriel, it’s already game-on in Berea, even though it’s still only rookie minicamp. But Gabriel is closing ranks and will protect the sanctity of the room, one that includes a rehabbing Deshaun Watson (Achilles). Will he ignore the hoopla? Engage with it?
“The more questions I get asked like that, it just divides the team,” Gabriel said. “And for me, I think we’re in a room full of not just us, but Kenny, Joe and Deshaun, and for us, we know how important a healthy QB room is, but also a team that you want to be a part of and how do you create an environment every single day where everyone can be at their best, and that’s just pushing one another, which talent naturally does, and naturally it’s healthy for us where we all go do our thing and everyone wins.”
Sanders, originally projected to go No. 2 to the Browns, was asked about proving that he’s better than a third-round talent.
“My job here isn’t to prove people wrong,” he said. “I prove myself right. And I fully have self-belief and what those people say, that’s just their opinion. So I don’t truly care. They don’t really live in my mental space about that type of stuff. It really doesn’t do anything for me.”
He flourished on the first two days of rookie minicamp (it’s close to the media on Sunday) and he dazzled in his podium interview on Saturday. He wowed the kids at local high schools and might still show up at a Cavs playoff game, providing he can treat some teammates to the hard-to-get seats.
But the work, climbing up from third- or fourth-string quarterback, has only just begun.
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