Shedeur Sanders isn't like most fifth-round picks in the NFL. There have been several players who lasted until Round 5 who have gone on to become household names. Some of them, like cornerback Richard Sherman, tight end George Kittle, and wide receiver Tyreek Hill, have even cemented themselves among some of the league's greatest. Sanders will be looking to join that latter group throughout his professional career.
However, he's already different from that crop of players. Unlike Sherman, Kittle, and Hill, Sanders has had the spotlight on him from day one, even if he didn't get drafted until Day 3. He's arguably the most famous fifth-round pick of all time, at least in terms of when they were initially selected.
That's because Sanders was never supposed to be a fifth-rounder. While he was never a slam-dunk prospect by any means, most analysts still had him going in Round 1 or 2. It wasn't the talent or intangibles that made him fall in the draft; it was the divide between his production and his self-perception. Sanders was reportedly confident to a fault, and his demeanor throughout his interviews and the pre-draft process wiped his name off of a lot of big boards.
All that is behind him now, though, as Cleveland elected to take a chance on him. Now, he has the opportunity to prove them right for ending his slide and make the teams that repeatedly passed up on him regret it. Training camp and preseason are still a ways away, so fans eagerly waiting on Sanders's revenge tour have to hold on for quite a bit longer. However, he recently got a chance to showcase a bit of the intangibles that initially made him a Round 1 prospect to begin with at rookie minicamp.
It's not much, but the footwork is crisp, the motion is fluid and compact, and he looks pretty comfortable in his new digs. The Browns and their fans will be hoping that this turns out to be a very early look at a future Cleveland legend.
