Although many expected Shedeur Sanders to be a first-round pick, the draft unfolded very differently. He went unselected on the first two days, and was finally drafted by the Browns in the fifth round on Day 3.

However, analyst Nick Baumgardner's recent comments riled fans up. The uproar came in response to a recent report by The Athletic, in which the NFL analyst concluded that he was the Cleveland Browns' "best young QB."

“No …. he's terrible,” wrote a fan in the comments section of The Athletic's X post, which referenced Baumgardner's report.

In his report, Baumgardner laid out Shedeur Sanders' strengths and weaknesses and questioned whether his progress from his rookie year was enough for him to become Cleveland's QB1.

“Shedeur Sanders fell to No. 144 in the 2025 NFL Draft. Then he became the Browns' best young QB,” The Athletic wrote on X, citing analyst Nick Baumgardner.

Falling to the fifth round wasn't even the worst part. The Browns had already drafted Dillon Gabriel at No. 94 before selecting him 50 picks later as their second quarterback.

The fall was certainly unexpected by many, as Sanders had one of the best seasons at Colorado in 2024.

Sanders finished his final year with the Colorado Buffaloes in 2024 by completing 353 of 477 passes for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 13 games.

On top of that, he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

Across his two seasons, he completed 651 of 907 passes for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. During that stretch, he broke more than 100 school records.

According to Baumgardner, Sanders should have been drafted much earlier than the fifth round, as his college production was enticing to NFL teams.

“Sanders should have been drafted toward the end of the third round of the ’25 draft. Ironically enough, that’s exactly where Cleveland selected Gabriel (No. 94 pick) — a player who carried more of an “undrafted” grade,” wrote Baumgardner.

With the draft-slide debate reigniting, fans have once again erupted over Shedeur Sanders' selection.

Fans claim Shedeur Sanders was never worthy of the draft hype

Fans in the same Athletic post now view his production for the Browns as below par, with one fan claiming he was terrible from the start.

Another fan shared the same feeling, saying Sanders might not be that good after all.

“He's 🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️,” the fan noted.

Despite being a fifth-round pick, Sanders started seven games for the Browns last season, and while his production was better than Dillon Gabriel's, he still threw for fewer than 200 yards per game and recorded more interceptions than passing touchdowns.

Amid the criticism, one fan insisted that despite his production in Year 1, Sanders remains talented.

“The talent has been there,” one fan opined.

Another fan opined that there's a reason why he was not a first-round draft pick.

“It was not talent stopping teams from drafting it was his immaturity in my opinion #Legendary.”

Last but not least, another fan sarcastically asked:

“Wasn't he 'LEGENDARY' already before any @NFL?”

Given that, what are your thoughts on Shedeur Sanders? Will he be able to redeem himself this season? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit