Days before Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders shockingly slid all the way to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, a story shared comments from an unnamed “longtime NFL assistant coach” who said Sanders is “so entitled” and was responsible for “the worst formal interview” that coach had experienced.
That same piece quoted a “longtime AFC executive” who said Sanders “makes you feel small” and “wants to dictate what he’s going to do and what’s best for him.”
On the latest edition of the “New Heights” podcast, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce used plenty of not-safe-for-work language to challenge those anonymous sources to “say who they were.”
“That’s so f—— lame,” Kelce added, per Matt Ehalt of the New York Post. “I just feel like there’s no validity to it.”
NFL Media personality Kyle Brandt, a “high-level NFL executive” and a Colorado reporter ripped the anonymous sources before the draft opened on April 24. However, multiple reports have since detailed how Sanders allegedly bombed predraft interviews with teams, perhaps in an attempt to determine his landing spot.
The Cleveland Browns eventually traded up to draft Sanders with pick No. 144.
“What I saw of the film, I thought he was a way higher pick, and that’s all I think should matter. It doesn’t seem like he’s a terrible person,” Kelce added about Sanders. “…I feel like this is going to be such a fresh start for him. I can see him working his a– off and becoming the starting quarterback in Cleveland at some point, for sure.”
Podcast co-host and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce pointed out that teams simply did not “think the potential of Shedeur Sanders panning out at the next level is high enough to warrant an earlier pick.” The Kelce brothers are originally from Cleveland Heights, and Jason noted that he’s “rooting for” Sanders to prove doubters wrong.
“I love this for Cleveland,” Travis Kelce said about Sanders ending up with the Browns. “God, I love this for Cleveland. I really do, man. The Browns fan deep down in my heart is like, ‘F— yeah.’ You get a swag champ that works his a– off that has something to prove now — not that he didn’t before, but he’s got that chip on his shoulder, I’m sure, because of how much he dropped.”
Reporters and analysts previously wondered how veteran players would react to a big-name rookie such as Sanders joining their locker room. It could be interesting to see if current members of the Browns echo Travis’ words as Sanders competes with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel for Cleveland’s starting quarterback job this summer.