Sitting through five rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, Deion and Shedeur Sanders must have gone through emotional turmoil as they expected the former Colorado Buffaloes star’s name to be called in the top five picks. Former quarterback Johnny Manziel has praised Shedeur for remaining calm during the process.
Throughout the season, Shedeur was projected as a first-round pick; however, that wasn’t the case. The Cleveland Browns selected him as the 144th overall pick, with QBs such as Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe, and Dillon Gabriel getting picked before him.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Manziel appeared on the ‘Glory Daze’ podcast (via ESPN Cleveland’s X handle) and commended Shedeur for handling the difficult situation well.
“He handled it as good as you possibly can, with a smile on your face and like just letting, letting everything kind of play itself out. Because it’s not easy to sit there, you know, early in the in the draft process, Dion sitting there, like, ‘We’re going to be off the board in the first five picks.’ Yeah, and you sit there for five rounds, that’s a highly, like, anxious spot to be in,” Manziel said.
“I mean, even for me, sitting and just like, waiting till the end of the first round was like, I don’t think I would have been able to handle it, handle it the way that he did. Mad props to him, to be able to, you know, face that, just take her straight on,” he added.
“Honestly he can come out and win the job, I think he’ll do well, I really do,” – @JManziel2 is rooting for Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/UwJ7yZc2c8
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 16, 2025
Johnny Manziel Weighs In on Reasons Behind Shedeur Sanders’ Dramatic Draft Slide
The real reason behind Shedeur Sanders’ draft slide remains a mystery, though there are various perspectives on why it happened.
Analysts like Stephen A. Smith believe it may have been because of Coach Prime’s bold statements about not wanting to send Shedeur to certain teams, while others believe it was because the youngster refused to throw at the NFL Combine and similar events.
In the same interview, Manziel shared his opinion on the matter, saying:
“I don’t know. You like, hear and just kind of see reports about, like, certain things, like, you know, maybe he’s a little bit too loud at times. Like, the quiet guy, you know, the Geno type of guy who just comes in is kind of under the radar. Like, I’m watching rookie mini camp stuff, and they’re like, detailing every single report of every single throw. Like, Yeah, f***ing crazy.”
He added:
“It’s a pretty mini camp. Like every snap, every single snap of red zone, how much sh*t? So it’s just like, it just adds that question of, just like, getting peppered with so much sh*t, an opportunity now and Cleveland on the quarterback situation that you know, honestly, he can come out of and win the job.”
Manziel further opined that Shedeur is a hardworking kid and that he will be successful.
“I think he’ll do well. I really do. I think the kid works really hard, and I think he loves the game of ball. And when it comes down to it, if you have a guy like that, that loves the game—I think he’ll be successful,” he concluded.
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