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As people are still reeling from the shock of the Cleveland Browns drafting Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round, it's more so the slide the quarterback went, as some had the Colorado football star going in the first round. With the speculation of Sanders starting for the Browns this upcoming season, former player Shawne Merriman gave insight into the teams interested.
Merriman was on Kay Adams' show “Up & Adams,” where he spoke about his network covering the East-West Shrine Bowl practices, which Sanders was at. He would reveal that the New York Giants would “not leave Shedeur alone” and that they were “very high” on the signal-caller.
“My network, Lights Out Sports TV, we had rights to the East-West Shrine Bowl practices,” Merriman said. “So we live-streamed the entire practice for four days. When I tell you the first two or three days of those practices, I’ve never seen it like that, the Shrine Bowl ever, every NFL personnel, GM, you name it, was there. I talked to Brian Dabol, and I also talked to the GM there.”
“I got to tell you, between the Giants and the Titans, they would not leave Shedeur alone,” Merriman continued. “To the point where I was almost tripping over their digital people’s cameras because they were in our way. They were just trying to get as close as they could to Shedeur. So I knew they were very high on Shedeur. So I don’t know what happened from the East-West Shrine Bowl to the Draft.”
Shedeur Sanders draft slide shocked Shawne Merriman due to the amount of attention the QB was getting from teams at the East West Shrine Bowl 🤔
“Between the Giants and the Titans, they would not leave Shedeur alone.”@heykayadams | @shawnemerriman pic.twitter.com/nO9PrX4jLV
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 5, 2025
Shawne Merriman on teams being “high” on Browns' Shedeur Sanders
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Five quarterbacks went over Sanders in the NFL Draft, even including the Browns taking Dillion Gabriel in the third round before the team eventually took the controversial player in the fifth. Some of that controversial label stems from reports and rumors that the interview process didn't go swimmingly for Sanders and that the connection to his father in Deion Sanders strayed teams away.
Whatever the actual reason was for him sliding to the fifth round, despite high projections, Merriman spoke more on how high teams were on Sanders.
“So I don’t know what happened from that time period to the draft,” Merriman said. “But I can tell you right now that the Giants, speaking to Brian Daboll and the GM [Joe Schoen] there, and the Titans were very high on him and that was supposed to be their pick, so I’m not sure what happened at that point.”
The Giants traded up into the first round with their second pick, but took Jaxson Dart and not Sanders. Cleveland is the team that ultimately chose him, and while it remains to be seen if Sanders starts the season, it will be a big news event.
