Growing up a Cleveland Browns fan after 1996, the NFL draft was always something to look forward to in April.
The winter months as a teen were spent using football knowledge gained from a brief time on the gridiron and insight from draft “experts” to figure out who the Browns should take every year.
The never-ending search for a quarterback for the brown and orange was, and still is, the topic of conversation for the team’s fans. But as the years went on, what was once excitement for a potential savior slowly became contempt.
There were always debates during the offseason. Should the Browns take Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas or Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn? Could Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel be special enough to turn the franchise around? Who should they take with the first pick in 2018?
What was once fun banter has now become tribalism. Everyone hitches their wagon to a prospect and won’t move off that opinion, casting criticisms of the coaching staff and front office in place of admitting a wrong opinion.
Now, recent Browns draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders will be the topic of discussion.
The Gabriel pick surprised many fans, with the Oregon signal-caller and Heisman finalist going with the 97th pick. But the talk of the draft was the fall of Sanders from potential first-round pick to the Browns trading up to select him in the fifth round at pick 144.
Fans thought it was a reach on Gabriel, and maybe it was. Meanwhile, the media frenzy that surrounded Sanders and his Hall of Fame father and coach, Deion Sanders, at Colorado turned off college football and NFL fans alike over the last two seasons.
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a Sanders guy. Not because of the circus that’s followed him over the last several years, but because of his play at Colorado. The thought of taking one of the top prospects in the draft was more enticing with the second pick than taking Sanders.
But as Sanders began to slide, the thought of taking a shot on him became more palatable.
Once the pick was announced — which was spoiled by ESPN’s broadcast, which showed a graphic of him and the Browns prior to a commercial break — some fans loved it and some hated it. Personally, the fear started to form that the fan base was heading toward more arguments akin to Baker Mayfield’s ability to take a team to the Super Bowl or the morally questionable Deshaun Watson trade.
While there are limitations to Sanders’ game, the reported questions teams had surrounded his approach to the draft process. Evaluators questioned his reluctance to participate in the East-West Shrine Game and the combine, and its been reported that his interviews with teams didn’t go well.
Since his selection on Saturday afternoon, Sanders already arrived in Cleveland to work out prior to rookie minicamp on May 9. He also spent Wednesday talking to students at John Marshall High School — talking to area students was something he also did in college.
Again, the questions off the field surrounded his self-evaluation, not his person. There weren’t legal or locker room issues reported.
So dropping in the draft may be the best thing to happen to Sanders.
It could be the wake-up call he needs to take his game to the next level, and he’ll need to in order to have a shot at a professional career.
Cleveland’s rookies will join a crowded quarterback room with fan favorite Joe Flacco coming back after leading the Browns to the playoffs in 2023, and the team traded for former Steelers QB Kenny Pickett earlier in the offseason.
If Sanders or Gabriel do turn out to be a franchise quarterback, Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski will look like geniuses. If they don’t make it, the Browns only used a late third-round pick and a fifth-rounder.
The Browns have two first-round picks in the 2026 draft after trading back with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They have ammunition to take a shot on a guy next year in what is believed to be a better QB class.
In the meantime, fans should give the rookies a chance, especially Sanders. There are no guarantees he’ll make the roster, so if he does, it’s because he earned it.
Only time will tell if Sanders has the staying power to stick in the NFL, but he should be given a chance to prove himself on the field without unwarranted criticism off of it.
Dan Hiner is the sports editor for The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle. His columns run the final week of every month, and he can be reached at dhiner@tribtoday.com
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