Deion Sanders could impact Browns NFL draft plans

The Cleveland Browns own the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. They also have the first pick in the second round. Who will they select?

Ranking just below the Tennessee Titans in Round 1, both clubs are rumored to be taking quarterbacks. It is said that Tennessee is enamored with the University of Miami’s Cam Ward and should be taking him with the first pick. Cleveland would then be on the clock.

RELATED: WHAT IF THERE WERE TWO VIABLE OPTIONS FOR THE SECOND PICK?

The Titans (3-14-0) already have a young QB on the roster in Will Levis with journeyman Mason Rudolph as his backup. Veteran Trevor Siemian was on the practice squad.

Cleveland set an NFL record by starting the most quarterbacks in consecutive seasons with nine. Their starting QB, Deshaun Watson, went down with an Achilles tear in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The revolving door of signalcallers was then followed by Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Bailey Zappe. Five different quarterbacks started the year before.

The Browns will likely draft a young quarterback in this year’s draft. Exactly which round is the big question.

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Shedeur Sanders, the quarterback from the University of Colorado, has been slated to become a first-round selection in this year’s draft and is ranked as the second-best QB in this year’s class.

Many draft sites have him listed in a wide array of positions. Pro Football Focus has him ranked #42. NFLDraftBuzz.com and Tankathon have him at #4 while the Draft Network lists him at #6. DraftTek.com has him #8. Draft guru Brian Bosarge of Draft Countdown lists Sanders at #85 with CBS Sports is listing Sanders at #10.

Cleveland is not a place where quarterbacks come to flourish. But it wasn’t always this way.

Otto Graham only missed 10 games from 1946-1955 and captured seven titles. Frank Ryan had 76 starts in seven seasons and won an NFL championship. 51 starts for Milt Plum, Bill Nelsen, and Mike Phipps. Brian Sipe had 112 starts spread over 10 years. Paul McDonald had 21 starts. Bernie Kosar started 105 games during his nine years with the Browns.

But since the new Browns became a franchise in 1999, Cleveland has had 40 different starting quarterbacks. Three or more started in 11 seasons alone.

The Browns just may select a quarterback with the second pick. If the Titans pass on Ward, would they grab him? If Ward is gone, could GM Andrew Berry take Sanders?

If not, there will be plenty of guys available in all rounds. Teams can snag a quarterback in later rounds and find success. Joe Montana and Russell Wilson were third-round choices. We all know that Tom Brady was a sixth-round draft pick. So was Mark Rypien. Bart Starr was drafted in the 17^th round. Roger Staubach was taken in Round 9. Mark Brunell Round 5. Joe Theismann and McDonald waited until Round 4 to hear their names. Sipe was taken in the 13^th round while Nelsen was found in Round 10.

But the first round is where all fans believe the franchise quarterback is usually found.

Draft Shedeur Sanders?

The Browns just may decide that Sanders is the player for them and that their next starting quarterback will be found in this year’s draft.

Watson’s rehab was going along swimmingly until he had a setback. This required another surgery. Now, his prognosis for playing in the 2025 season is in doubt. When will he return? What will be his physical condition once he gets back into the fold? Can he catch up with a new offensive coordinator?

All of these are legitimate concerns.

With Tennessee grabbing Ward, that would open up the door for Sanders to be nabbed with the second pick.

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

But hold on a second. Word is that Sanders’ father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, has a list of NFL clubs that he will not allow his son to become a member of. Yikes. Is that true?

Do parents of potential NFL draft picks have the ability to determine where their child will play? In the real world, young men can apply to companies for employment opportunities and if hired, they may choose to accept or refuse. But professional sports leagues are a different animal. The franchises decide who works for them, not the other way around.

The elder Sanders stated on “The Tamron Hall Show” recently his thoughts on the NFL draft, and more specifically, his son’s draft trek.

Here is the dialogue from that show:

Tamron: “You have said that if the right team does not pick him, then you will intervene.”

Deion: “That’s my son. It’s almost like you got a child that’s going to an occupation that you dominated in. And you don’t think I’m not going to sit like a navigational system and tell him take a right, take a left right there, uh-uh, not that. That’s my son. I’m not going to let my son get in some foolishness.”

Tamron: “But we all know these coaches, these owners – you’ve been in the room. These billionaire owners, will often say, ‘Well, this is a young man who should be making his own decisions.’ He’s got this helicopter dad.”

Deion: “Not my son.”

Tamron: “Have you told him privately who you would like for him to play for?”

Deion: “It’s not like that. It’s not like who I would like for him to play for. It’s a couple of teams that I won’t allow him to play for. This is my profession. I know what’s behind the curtain. We ain’t got to get back there and find what’s not prominent for my son. I’m not doing it.”

Tamron: “And if he doesn’t listen to you?”

Deion: “Who?” (pause) You must mean owners – not my son. My son knows my voice and he understands that I’ve done this and done that.”

With Deion stating “...it’s a couple of teams that I won’t allow him to play for” does it so happen that Cleveland is on that list? The Browns are known for being a quarterback graveyard and the butt of jokes on just how many signal callers they have employed over the past 25 years.

Deion is not a man who wants his son to fail just like every other father. But for him, it is more than being drafted to a club that goes through quarterbacks and can’t make any of them successful.

He feels he is the best at his position in NFL history. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, won two Super Bowl rings with two different teams, was named to eight Pro Bowls and voted First Team All-Pro six times, was named to the NFL 100^th Anniversary Team, is listed in the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor and had his #2 jersey retired with Florida State.

As a head coach, Deion was named the SWAC Coach of the Year two times and his Jackson State teams were conference champs two seasons in a row. He was also selected as the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 2023.

Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images

So why in the world would this man with a huge ego allow his firstborn son to become the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns?

Anyone?

Not that he has a choice. Even if the Browns are on his private list and they draft Shedeur Sanders in any round, his son becomes the NFL property of the Browns right then and there. It is the way pro sports are set up. High school players may choose where they play, and in college with the transfer portal they are able to decide which university to play for, but not in the NFL. Or the CFL, or the UFL for that matter. When you are drafted by a professional club, you are theirs to do what they choose.

An NFL club may choose to keep a player, trade him to another city, or outright release them to which they are then no longer a professional athlete. It’s just the way it works.

Having said all that, it has happened before.

Other fathers and their QB sons

In 1983, the top player in that draft was a stud quarterback from Stanford named John Elway. He came out and stated that he would not play in Baltimore if the Colts drafted him first overall. His father Jack Elway, a college football coach, advised his son against playing for Baltimore head coach Frank Kush who had a reputation as a harsh taskmaster. And even though the Colts drafted him anyway, his rights were eventually traded to the Denver Broncos where he played a Hall of Fame career laced with nine Pro Bowls and captured two Super Bowls.

In 2004, the San Diego Chargers had the first overall pick. The Number 1 prospect was Eli Manning out of Ole Miss. His father Archie Manning, a former NFL star, stated that his son would not sign with the Chargers if they drafted him claiming their organization was dysfunctional. They drafted Eli anyway, but later in the draft he was traded to the New York Football Giants.

Ernie Accorsi was the Browns GM from 1985-1992. He was also the GM of the Colts when the team drafted Elway and then GM of the Giants when he orchestrated the trade for Eli Manning. He talked about both incidents in the following interview:

RELATED: FORMER BROWNS GM ERNIE ACCORSI INTERVIEW

So, to answer the question of whether Deion has any say-so as to where his son Shedeur will play in his rookie season, the answer is most likely: probably.

Are the Browns on Deion’s list?

Deion was also a guest on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast. When asked about Shedeur’s future, he stated:

“There’s certain cities where it ain’t going to happen. It’s going to be an “Eli” (Manning). We ain’t doing that.”

If Cleveland intends to select Shedeur as Watson’s replacement, it seems like there could be some hurdles in accomplishing that. For 2025, the Browns need a starting quarterback. This could be sold to Deion that his son will be just that.

Shedeur is a tough competitor, has the football IQ, and his arm strength is decent enough to find success in the league rather quickly.

Then again, what happens when Watson is healthy again? It is assumed that he would start given the fact that Cleveland would have to pay him $46 million and makes no sense to sit a guy who is getting that much money. Would Shedeur go from being the starter to carrying a clipboard?

Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images

Most likely, Deion’s direction on Shedeur’s journey with Cleveland will come to light before April’s draft. The Browns will have to do their due diligence and then decide if they want to proceed if Deion makes it known that Cleveland is not a destination for his son. Some view Shedeur as the best quarterback prospect in this year’s draft while others see him as a Day 2 draft pick.

ESPN has reported that Deion is talking with the Dallas Cowboys regarding their open head coaching position. We all know Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones would love nothing better than to bring a huge splash to his franchise, which Prime Time is the King of Splash. Dallas owns the #12 pick in the first round. We’ve already covered rumors of Sanders coaching the Las Vegas Raiders and how that could impact the NFL draft.

If that does not materialize, will Deion allow the Browns to draft Shedeur?

Of course, this entire article would be moot if the Titans selected him instead of Ward.