When the Cleveland Browns traded up to select Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, it raised eyebrows across the league for two main reasons. First, the pick came just two rounds after the team had already selected another quarterback, Dillon Gabriel.
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Second, it added to an already packed QB room that included Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, and Kenny Pickett. But the Browns, and GM Andrew Berry in particular, believed Sanders was simply too good a value to pass up at that point.
According to ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, after the draft, Berry “worked hard to trade up” for Sanders, beginning his push late in the fourth round. This gamble made sense on paper because the QB prospect had drawn Day 2 grades from multiple teams, and his 2024 college campaign at Colorado (4,134 yards, 37 TDs, 10 INTs) had scouts intrigued.
So getting the former Colorado star in the fifth round would be an extremely value for money pick, a sentiment GM Berry explained post-draft, “We didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round… we love adding competition to every position room.”
Now, just weeks before the season kicks off, the concerns are piling up. Sanders hasn’t cracked the top two in the QB depth chart, and insiders believe he could be either traded or cut. So naturally, for a franchise in flux, it’s brought scrutiny back to Andrew Berry, not just for drafting Sanders, but for a perceived trend of bringing in high-risk players.
Garrett Bush, host of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, recently pointed this trend out as he bluntly analysed the situation. “Quinshon Judkins… his battery domestic violence case is nothing new to Browns fans,” Bush said.
“There have been a lot of scandals… You start with Deshaun Watson, you can go back to Johnny Manziel, Josh Gordon, Kareem Hunt… Malik McDowell, Perrion Winfrey.”
Bush acknowledged the uncomfortable pattern: “Andrew Berry has had multiple guys that he has been involved with, whether he’s trading for them, scouting and drafting, or signing them in free agency, there have been guys with checkered pasts.”
Still, the analyst drew a clear line when it came to accountability.
“Andrew Berry didn’t do nothing to nobody. Andrew Berry is not around here roughing his wife up. Andrew Berry is a businessman… I can’t put nobody else’s actions on him.”
He added, “If there was red flags in the evaluation process and you still move ahead, then by all means, you can be held accountable. But if you do your evaluation, nothing comes up… you can’t know what a person will or won’t do.”
Sanders, by all public accounts, had a clean profile entering the draft. In fact, the only questionable element in his character came after his NFL entry when he was caught speeding twice above the limit.
Moreover, as iterated before, his slide into Day 3 was unexpected. So, on paper, Berry taking a flyer on an elite talent with minimal draft capital is exactly the kind of opportunistic move great GMs are expected to make. As Bush put it, “Sometimes the look is worse than what it actually really means.”
Ultimately, whether Sanders pans out or not, it’s a risk-reward equation Berry was right to explore, especially at pick No. 144. The fallout may be frustrating, but as the Browns try to rebuild amid instability and scrutiny, the bigger picture remains clear: not every risk is reckless. Some are just smart bets that didn’t pay off.
And can you blame GM Berry for that? No.
