Shedeur Sanders apparently isn\u2019t the only person who \u201ctorpedoed\u201d his NFL draft chances.<\/p>\n
When discussing the former Colorado quarterback\u2019s stunning slide over the weekend to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft, with the Browns grabbing him at No. 144 overall<\/a>, Boomer Esiason claimed Monday the 23-year-old Sanders wasn\u2019t on draft boards at the discretion of unnamed ownership. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you listen to this kid talk, right prior or at the combine, about how if you want a new culture in your locker room, I\u2019m the guy to do that, I can turn it around, he\u2019s very high on himself, and I think he\u2019s very off-putting to many, many coaches and general managers in the league,\u201d Esiason said Monday<\/a> on WFAN\u2019s \u201cBoomer & Gio.\u201d<\/p>\n Shedeur Sanders tumbled to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. ExclusiveAccess.Net \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m telling you right now, and I know this after talking to three different personnel people in the NFL this weekend, they didn\u2019t even have him on their board. They took him off, and they took him off because the owner said, \u2018Take him off, I don\u2019t want that guy. I don\u2019t want this \u2026 entitled person on our team,\u2019 and I don\u2019t blame them.\u201d<\/p>\n In the months leading up to the draft, Sanders stirred buzz over comments made<\/a> at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, when rumors percolated<\/a> about the QB\u2019s alleged \u201cunprofessional\u201d behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back-to-back,\u201d Sanders said at the combine. \u201cYou don\u2019t think I could come to an NFL franchise and change a program again? It\u2019s history. It\u2019s always going to repeat itself.\u201d<\/p>\n Boomer Esiason suggested some NFL owners did not want Shedeur Sanders\u2019 on their draft boards. WFAN\/X<\/p>\n Shedeur Sanders was the Browns\u2019 pick at No. 144. AP<\/p>\n Sanders, once projected to go in the early rounds of this year\u2019s draft, had to wait until the third and final day to receive that life-altering call from the Browns, who already landed Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel in the third round Friday night.<\/p>\n Beyond the quarterback \u201cjust torpedo[ing] himself\u201d where the pre-draft process is concerned<\/a>, Esiason added Monday the quarterback\u2019s father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, \u201cdidn\u2019t help\u201d matters, particularly when he joked about the family pulling an \u201cEli,\u201d<\/a> a nod to Eli Manning forcing a draft-day trade in 2004 from the Chargers to the Giants.<\/p>\n It was a rollercoaster draft experience for Sanders\u2019 family as the quarterback fell victim to a prank caller, who posed as a representative of an NFL team.<\/p>\n Deion Sander coached son Shedeur at Colorado and Jackson State. AP<\/p>\n Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, was involved and has since issued an apology.<\/a><\/p>\n Only two quarterbacks were taken in the first round of this year\u2019s draft, with Cam Ward going No. 1 overall to the Titans and Jaxson Dart being selected at No. 25 by the Giants, whom Sanders worked out for.<\/p>\n Sanders was also linked to the Steelers and Saints, both of whom drafted quarterbacks. <\/p>\n He and Gabriel join a crowded quarterback room that includes Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Deshaun Watson.<\/p>\n