Sanders was one of the most discussed players of the draft class after winning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors with the Buffaloes in 2024. He completed 74 percent of his passes with 4,134 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024, earning him second team All-American honors.
The Browns reviewed all the film they could with Sanders as they looked to revamp their quarterback room. They had pre-draft interviews with both Sanders and spent time with both him and his father, Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado coach who coached his son throughout college.
The father-son duo began attracting attention at the college levels when they teamed up at Jackson State for two seasons, which led to Sanders consistently ripping through defenses for 6,963 passing yards, 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Both of them stepped up to an even bigger stage by moving to the Colorado program in 2023—along with 2024 Heisman Trophy winner WR/CB Travis Hunter—and led the way toward improving the Buffaloes in two years. The Buffaloes were 1-11 in 2022 prior to Sanders’ arrival and finished the 2024 season 9-4.
“I think Shedeur has grown up in the spotlight,” Berry said, “but our expectation is for him to come in here and work and compete.”
Sanders’ competition will include three other quarterbacks added to the Browns’ roster this offseason. Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel, whom the Browns drafted on Day 2 in the third round, will vie for the Week 1 starting job.
Regardless of who wins the job, the Browns see a lot of valuable traits in Sanders’ game that pair well in head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense.
“We view him as a highly accurate pocket passer,” Berry said. “He does a really good job of protecting the ball. He has enough of the physical characteristics, whether it’s arm strength or mobility. Like all young players, there are things to improve.”
Berry knows Sanders will be hungry to come to Cleveland and establish himself at the NFL level, which was the exact message he relayed as he gave Sanders the draft call he had been waiting for.
The draft position is no longer important to Sanders or the Browns, and all that matters now is the Browns putting Sanders in a position to grow and Sanders doing the most with his opportunities.
“You have to come in and work, and you have to come in and compete,” Berry said. “That’s the message. Nothing’s given. It really doesn’t matter where you picked, it’s what you do from that point forward. Because that’s the reality for all the guys that we selected this weekend.”