Cleveland Browns Pick Shedeur Sanders Which Ends The Nightmare -- Except For The Browns

It was going to happen sooner or later, and, yes, it was later than Shedeur Sanders expected, but he is a member of the Cleveland Browns now.

The Browns selected the Colorado quarterback in the fifth round, the 144th overall pick in the NFL Draft. And they traded up to do it, closing a quick deal with the Seattle Seahawks.

So the long national nightmare is over.

Drama Ends In The Fifth Round

The drama is over.

Maybe.

The Browns obviously decided Sanders was the best player on their board when they pulled the trigger. But this is a little strange because the club drafted Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel in the third round on Friday.

The Browns now have Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders in the quarterback room. Oh, yeah, they also have Deshaun Watson – although he's all but certainly played his last game for the Browns.

Here's a prediction:

Everyone is going to say the right thing in the next couple of days. 

Everyone, Including Sanders, Will Fly Right

Sanders will thank God for the opportunity to play for the Browns. He'll talk about how it's more important what team he was drafted by, than when he was drafted.

He is media savvy. As is his family. He is not going to blow this, if he's smart.

And the Browns will talk about how Sanders was simply too good to pass up in the fifth round. Indeed, they'll say it was important to move up in the draft because they had intel that other teams might take him ahead of them if they didn't make the trade.

"We live by our board," GM Andrew Berry said. "Nothing's been promised and nothing will be given … but we are excited."

The Browns will say and do the right things.

But …

They have a history of blowing it with their quarterbacks. And the NFL draft has a history of being unkind to quarterbacks in the fifth round.

CLEVELAND - Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns celebrates a rushing touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 10, 2023. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

History Is Against Sanders

There have been 43 quarterbacks drafted in the fifth round since 1994. And in 30 years through 2024, none have become a big-time successes.

The Browns, meanwhile, are a team that overpaid for Watson. 

Blew it with Johnny Manziel once upon a time.

Blew it with Tim Couch.

Blew it with Baker Mayfield twice, in that he wasn't good enough early, and then they didn't have the patience to keep him long enough to see him get good.

Browns Quarterback Room Is Interesting

And now they've got a quarterback room that resembles the island of misfit toys.

Pickett? A bust with the Steelers.

Flacco? Experienced, but clearly beyond his prime. He needs to hope the Pittsburgh Steelers indeed add Aaron Rodgers so that he, at 40 years old, is no longer the oldest quarterback in the division.

Gabriel? He's going to be a 25-year-old rookie. So he's one of the draft's oldest rookies and is obviously going to endear himself to Flacco by sharing his Geritol.

And then Sanders.

One more thing: This selection will thankfully bring to a close the conspiracy theories of why he wasn't selected. Or selected earlier.

NEW YORK - Skip Bayless attends the Paley Prize Gala honoring ESPN's 35th anniversary presented by Roc Nation Sports on May 28, 2014.  (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Paley Center for Media)

The Unfounded Theories Can Cease

You have people like Skip Bayless saying the Sanders delay in being drafted was about race. No, please stop.

The Browns, who passed on Sanders five times before picking him with their sixth opportunity, have a black general manager.

The Steelers, who passed on Sanders three times, have a black head coach and a minority general manager.

The Tennessee Titans, who passed on Sanders, drafted a black quarterback.

The Seattle Seahawks, who passed on Sanders, drafted a black quarterback.

The Raiders, who passed on Sanders, traded for a black starting quarterback.

That is just some of the ridiculous stuff pundits have been floating the past couple of days. So finally, that can go away now.

That nightmare is over.