Tom Brady has an encouraging message for Shedeur Sanders.
There are few people who have an intimate understanding of the awkward ordeal Shedeur Sanders experienced at the NFL Draft.
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is one of those people.
Widely mocked as a first-round selection, Sanders wasn’t selected until the 144th pick in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
Arguably the most shocking fall in modern-draft memory, there has been much speculation about what caused Sanders to drop so far. It could be his lack of mobility or a hero-ball game that some think won’t translate to the next level.
Likely playing a role was Sanders’ father, Hall-of-Fame cornerback Deion, who was his son’s head coach all four years of his college career — first at Jackson State, then Colorado.
Whatever the case may be, none of it matters now.
Brady, who famously waited until the sixth round to hear his name called by the New England Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft, had a succinct message regarding Sanders.
“He’s an example, it doesn’t matter where you’re picked,” Brady told Hall-of-Famer Michael Strahan while the two watched the draft together.
Brady wasn’t a projected first-round pick like Sanders was, but famously played with a chip on his shoulder and took personal offense to the fact that six quarterbacks were taken before him.
Aside from the seven Super Bowl wins, Brady amassed 89,214 yards and 649 touchdowns in his 23-year career and is widely regarded as the greatest to play the position.
Obviously that is an all-but-impossible bar for Sanders to reach, but the point is that it doesn’t matter where you’re drafted. Once you put on an NFL uniform you have the same chances as anyone else in the building.
Crowded QB Room in Cleveland
GettyShedeur Sanders will have to beat out a host of others for playing time.
For Brady, it took an injury to veteran starter Drew Bledsoe in 2001 to get his shot. The Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year and a legacy was born.
Sanders has a murkier path to a starting role.
The Browns have an unproven but crowded quarterback room heading into the 2025 season.
Deshaun Watson, who the Browns infamously traded six draft picks — including three first-rounders — and guaranteed $230 million to, tore his achilles in the offseason and is expected to miss most, if not all, of the season.
Cleveland added Kenny Pickett in the offseason via trade from the Philadelphia Eagles. Pickett was a first-round selection out of Pittsburgh in 2022, but is on his third team in four years and has thrown just 15 touchdowns to 14 interceptions in his career.
Joe Flacco may be Sanders’ toughest competition for the starting role. The veteran Super Bowl winner was brought back by the Browns, with whom he won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2023, on a one-year deal after spending last season with the Colts.
Flacco is 40-years-old and in the twilight of his career, but he did lead the Browns to the playoffs in his last stint with the team.
Perhaps the strangest aspect of this four-man competition is that Sanders won’t be the only rookie involved in it.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel was selected by the Browns in the third round, two rounds before they took Sanders. The 24-year-old, 6-foot lefty was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2024 and is thought to be pro-ready after an injury-lengthened six-year college career.
Brady Will Have to Watch From a Distance
GettyRaiders fans were sold on the idea of Sanders last season.
It seems as though Brady believes in Sanders based on both his comments to Strahan and his relationship with the family, not to mention the Brady clothing line’s NIL deal with Sanders in 2022.
So then why didn’t the quarterback-needy Las Vegas Raiders — where Brady is part owner — take Sanders with one of their 11 picks?
The team traded a third-round pick for Geno Smith in the offseason, but still figured to be in the market for a prospect to mold into their long-term answer at the position as Smith will turn 35-years-old this season.
Sanders seemed like he would have fit that mold. After transferring from Jackson State to Colorado in 2023, Sanders last two seasons saw him combine for a 72% completion percentage with 7,364 yards and 64 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions.
Pairing him with new head coach Pete Carroll, a long-time veteran with experience managing all types of personalities, and letting him sit behind Smith and learn seemed at face value like a solid plan.
But, the Raiders had seven chances to take Sanders before the Browns did and opted not to. Maybe Brady prefers rooting from afar.
Anthony E. Parelli is a breaking news writer for Heavy Sports, coming on board in 2025. He has been a published writer for over a decade with thousands of bylines. He has worked in writing, editing and social media roles for companies like Hearst Media, NBC Sports and the New York Post. In 2015, Anthony won a Society of Professional Journalists award for feature writing. He has been an adjunct professor in the sports media field since 2019 and in his free time enjoys golfing and coaching high school football and baseball. More about Anthony E. Parelli
