Travis and Jason Kelce come to the defense of Browns QB Shedeur Sanders
This might end up being the most famous 144th pick in NFL Draft history.
As the NFL Draft progressed last week, the focus of some television coverage shifted from the players who were being selected to one who wasn’t: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Many NFL pundits thought Sanders would be a first-round pick. But as the rounds came and went and his named wasn’t called, there were reports that he had fared poorly in team interviews and meetings before the draft.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce blasted the talk of anonymous sources talking about Sanders.
“I think whoever this anonymous person that’s saying (that) — they should come out and say who they were,” Kelce said on the latest episode of his New Heights podcast. “What is that about? If you’re gonna leak that type of (stuff), be the one that says that, ‘Yeah, it just didn’t go well for us.’ Don’t say that we’re anonymous. That’s so lame. I just feel like there’s no validity to it.
“I’m not sure why he dropped. I’m not sure whether it was the interviews or whether it was stuff that they saw on film. What I saw in film, I thought he was a way higher pick. And I think that’s all that should matter. And I mean, it doesn’t seem like he’s a terrible person. It seems like he’s just a motivated football player that is a part of a big football family. And him and his father have kind of taken over NCAA football for the past three to four years. And whether that’s something that NFL teams, quote, unquote, didn’t want to deal with, I feel like this is going to be such a fresh start for him and now I can see him working his (butt) off and becoming the starting quarterback in Cleveland at some point, for sure.”
Kelce, who grew up in the Cleveland area, is thrilled that Sanders was picked by the Browns.
“God, I love this for Cleveland. I really do, man,” Kelce said. “The Browns fan deep down in my heart is just like, yeah, you get a swag champ that works his (butt) off, that has something to prove. Not that he didn’t before, but he’s got that chip on his shoulder, I’m sure, because of how much he dropped.”
Kelce’s brother, Jason, said NFL teams don’t care about off-the-field issues if they believe a player can help them win.
And Jason Kelce, the former Eagles center who now is an ESPN analyst, added that teams have missed badly on quarterbacks in the past.
“Teams said on draft day they don’t think Shedeur Sanders’ potential warrants being drafted that high at the next level,” Jason Kelce said. “OK, now, for whatever reason that is, I don’t know why that is, I don’t even barely watch Shedeur Sanders, but ... there’s too many players with character issues, with concerns every year coming out about criminal behavior, off-field antics and other things that get drafted in the first round. And they get drafted in the first round because they are ballers, and the NFL wants great players. The fact that he got drafted at 144 in the fifth round tells me that maybe these off-field things mattered a little bit.
“But the bottom line is teams just do not think the potential of Shedeur Sanders panning out at the next level is high enough to warrant an earlier pick. And teams get this wrong all the time. They got it wrong with Brock Purdy. They got it wrong with Tom Brady. This is not an exact science, and I’m happy that Shedeur Sanders is going to get an opportunity to go to Cleveland.”
Both Kelce brothers said they are rooting for Sanders to have success with the Browns.
You can listen to the podcast here.
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 9:33 AM.
