Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders was one of the top-ranked quarterbacks in the class. After a dominant season with the Colorado Buffaloes, many experts believed that the Cleveland Browns would take him early in the first round. Instead, Sanders made headlines as he slipped down the draft boards, with Cleveland taking Dillon Gabriel instead.
LeSean McCoy offered his opinion on why that happened. According to the former Pro Bowl running back, Kevin Stefanski and the Browns front office did not select the quarterback early because of his race. To him, Sanders' talent was evident throughout his time playing collegiate football. However, Sanders' pre-draft drama shook a lot of experts' belief in him.
Sanders made the Browns' final roster, but is the third-string quarterback behind Joe Flacco and Gabriel. McCoy gave his take on the rookie's situation on Speak Easy. The former Philadelphia Eagles star believes that Sanders slipped in the draft because he is black.
“If he weren't black, he'd have definitely went in the first round,” McCoy said. “If he wasn't a black man, he'd have been in the first round. You know that. My thing is Shedeur was a top tier quarterback coming out of college. Everybody and their momma, every smart person on TV was like, ‘Yo, hes going to be one or two quarterback.’ That’s my thing.”
Sam Acho, one of McCoy's Speak Easy co-hosts and a former NFL player, agreed with him. He took things a step further, comparing Sanders to former star quarterback Colin Kaepernik.
“I believe it absolutely is a Colin Kaepernick – Shedeur situation,” Acho said. “I believe it absolutely is. The dilemma with Colin Kaepernick was not that he was not talented enough to be in the NFL. The dilemma with Colin Kaepernick is that he wasn't talented enough to be worth upsetting the decision makers of the NFL.”
Regardless of why Sanders fell in the draft, he will have to keep waiting for his chance. Gabriel took over at quarterback for the Browns in Week 4, but his rookie teammate faces an uphill climb when it comes to earning playing time for Stefanski's team.
