The Browns’ reaction to the Shedeur Sanders pick was ... subdued
Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images It’s possible the Shedeur Sanders pick was a Jimmy Haslam decision rather than a football operations decision. The Cleveland Browns made a big draft move on Saturday, selecting Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The move came after the team spent a late third round pick on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. It was a curious move to add a second rookie to the quarterback room, but not entirely shocking. And the chance to land Sanders in the fifth round offers some value for a guy many thought would go on day one, if not day two. The reactions in the Browns war room suggests a top-down approach to this pick. General manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski were seen offering polite clapping but not much in the way of excitement about landing Sanders this late. Kind of sort of has the look like the owner made the call— Ollie Connolly (@ollieconnolly.bsky.social) 2025-04-26T18:31:16.460Z As Ollie noted, this suggests maybe Browns owner Jimmy Haslam had some say in this pick. And Adam Schefter offered some details that might back that up. He indicated Deion and Shedeur had “developed a relationship with Jimmy Haslam during the pre-draft process.” There are a host of reasons Haslam might have pushed for the team to pick Sanders. At the end of the day, NFL owners are the ones who are paying the bills and get to have final say if they so choose. It’s generally not ideal for an owner to be making football decisions, but the richest person in the room usually has the most power when it comes to final decision-making. Whatever the reasoning for drafting Sanders, as Terrell Owens once told us, “Get your popcorn ready!”
It’s possible the Shedeur Sanders pick was a Jimmy Haslam decision rather than a football operations decision.
The Cleveland Browns made a big draft move on Saturday, selecting Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The move came after the team spent a late third round pick on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
It was a curious move to add a second rookie to the quarterback room, but not entirely shocking. And the chance to land Sanders in the fifth round offers some value for a guy many thought would go on day one, if not day two.
The reactions in the Browns war room suggests a top-down approach to this pick. General manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski were seen offering polite clapping but not much in the way of excitement about landing Sanders this late.
Kind of sort of has the look like the owner made the call— Ollie Connolly (@ollieconnolly.bsky.social) 2025-04-26T18:31:16.460Z
As Ollie noted, this suggests maybe Browns owner Jimmy Haslam had some say in this pick. And Adam Schefter offered some details that might back that up. He indicated Deion and Shedeur had “developed a relationship with Jimmy Haslam during the pre-draft process.”
There are a host of reasons Haslam might have pushed for the team to pick Sanders. At the end of the day, NFL owners are the ones who are paying the bills and get to have final say if they so choose. It’s generally not ideal for an owner to be making football decisions, but the richest person in the room usually has the most power when it comes to final decision-making.
Whatever the reasoning for drafting Sanders, as Terrell Owens once told us, “Get your popcorn ready!”
