If you watched the 2025 NFL Draft, and probably even if you didn't, you know who Shedeur Sanders is and his epic fall. The Miami Dolphins avoided this mess.
It's hard to understand how a top-five draft prospect fell to Day 3 of the draft, unless he was never really a top-five prospect. The Sanders family did a great job of promoting Shedeur, going so far as to retire his jersey at Colorado.
The national media bought into all the hype, but the NFL executives did not. The media wanted you to believe it was an attempt to send Deion a message, rather than just them all being wrong about what was being discussed behind closed doors.
Entering day three, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said he and the rest of the team had a lengthy discussion about taking Sanders. "Was Shedeur Sanders considered at any point?" someone asked Grier. "Yes, we had lots of discussions about him today."
That was it; there was no follow-up.
Ultimately, it didn't matter because as the rock that was tied around his waist continued to fall to the bottom of the lake, the Cleveland Browns grabbed the rope and pulled him out of the abyss. That might have been Miami had Sanders still been on the board when Grier was up for the second time in round five.
Instead, one selection after the Dolphins took defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, the Browns moved up to take Sanders.
Miami Dolphins avoid having to deal with Shedeur Sanders thanks to Cleveland Browns
Prior to the draft, the elder Sanders made it clear that if his son was going to be drafted by the Browns, he would pull an Eli Manning and not sign with them.
After falling to round five, Shedeur was dancing when his name was called, but there is a problem the Sanders' will need to deal with. Cleveland took another quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, in round four, and they have three others on the roster.
The Dolphins have enough problems with their roster, and their quarterback isn't exactly someone who inspires confidence, given his injury history.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Shedeur at the NFL level, given his massive fall in the draft. It could be the catalyst to put his priorities in perspective.
For the Dolphins, Grier may have discussed it, but the Browns kept Miami from making a potential mistake. The Dolphins' culture, or what little there is, probably wouldn't survive the Sanders family.
Not to mention, if Mike McDaniel is fired this year, imagine the calls for Deion to coach the team (from Deion).