Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson has sensationally claimed that the NFL instructed teams not to select Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 draft.
Sanders’ tumble down draft boards was the biggest storyline of the event as the one-time projected first-round pick fell all the way to the fifth round before being taken by the Browns.
And while several reports have claimed that the quarterback simply didn’t interview well with teams, Dickerson believes there was a conspiracy to keep him out of the league.
‘I’ll tell you this much here, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL: that the NFL told [teams], ‘Do not draft him. We’re gonna make an example out of him,” Dickerson said on Roggin and Rodney.
‘And this came from a very good source, a very good source. And he said… somebody called the Cleveland Browns and said, ‘Don’t do that.’
The claim spread online after it was replayed on a segment of the Dan Patrick Show with Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Breer.
Shedeur Sanders was drafted by the Browns after tumbling to the fifth round of the draft
And Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson believes the NFL told teams not to draft him
And Breer was not buying Dickerson’s theory at all, saying that many teams simply didn’t view Sanders as a first-round prospect.
Breer went on to note that it’s rare for quarterbacks to be selected in the second or third rounds. Sanders was ultimately selected by the Browns with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round.
‘I think he fell out of the first round for football reasons,’ Breer said. ‘I think he kept falling for everything else.’
‘Shedeur’s case was complicated going into the draft,’ he continued. ‘But I don’t think it was that complicated where there was some sort of conspiracy to keep him out of the league.’
Sanders – the son of Colorado coach and NFL legend Deion Sanders – reportedly rubbed teams the wrong way in interviews, and also declined to throw at the NFL Combine.
Sanders threw two touchdowns in his preseason debut against the Panthers this month
The quarterback has continued to face obstacles in Cleveland, as owner Jimmy Haslam publicly distanced himself from the organization’s decision to select Sanders while speaking to reporters last month.
Sanders has also found himself buried on the depth chart behind Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel – an order which didn’t change even after his impressive preseason debut.
Flacco has been named the team’s starter ahead of Week 1.
Sandrs also suffered an oblique injury last week, which ruled him out of his team’s preseason game against the Browns.
However, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Thursday that – barring any setbacks – Sanders would be healthy enough to play on Saturday in the team’s preseason finale against the Rams.
