OPINION: Sanders was a topic of conversation all weekend because of the NFL Draft; here are some you may not know about him.

Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

If you were paying any attention to social media this weekend, the one story that dominated most of our timelines was Shedeur Sanders and his curious fall from the early rounds of the 2025 NFL draft. He was eventually drafted on Day 3 by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round with the 144th pick. Many draft analysts considered Shedeur one of the top quarterback prospects in the draft, so even if he didn’t go at the top of the draft on the first day, nearly everybody from professional analysts to those merely keeping up on social media were baffled. No doubt, the 2025 NFL Draft will be remembered as the Shedeur Sanders draft. 

Why was there so much interest from casual fans to sports analysts in where Sanders would land? There are a lot of reasons, chief among them is that he’s the son of NFL Hall of Famer and one of greatest NFL players of all time, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, who coached Shedeur at both Jackson State University (a historically Black university in Jackson, Mississippi) and at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Also, the younger Sanders is polarizing; depending on who you ask: he was either one of the best quarterbacks in college football last season or overrated, with very few people landing in the middle. What makes a quarterback so polarizing? Who is Shedeur Sanders? Here are five things to know about the newest member of the Cleveland Browns.

1. Shedeur is the fourth of five kids; his older brother Shilo is also in the NFL.  

Deion Sanders, who won Super Bowls with both the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, has five children: Deiondra, Deion, Jr., Shilo, Shedeur, and Shelomi. Shilo, his older brother by two years played alongside him at the University of Colorado and declared for the same NFL draft; he went undrafted but did just sign a free-agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shedeur’s sister, Shelomi, currently plays college basketball at Alabama A&M University, a historically Black university right outside of Huntsville, Alabama. 

2. Shedeur had his Buffalos jersey number (#2) retired by the University of Colorado.

Shedeur and his Heisman Trophy-winning teammate Travis Hunter (the number 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars) had their jersey numbers retired by the University of Colorado. They are the fifth and sixth Colorado football players to have their numbers retired. The fact that his college team would retire his jersey number is why so many analysts projected him so high in the draft. 

3. Shedeur won the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for best college quarterback. 

The award, given by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. (named after Unitas, considered one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time), is given to “the nation’s top quarterback who best exemplifies character, scholastic and athletic achievement.” 

4. Shedeur holds several passing records at both the University of Colorado and Jackson State University.

One of the reasons Shedeur was ranked so highly was because of his numbers, which are astounding—and one of the reasons his jersey number was retired. At the University of Colorado, Shedeur is first in single-season passing yards (4,134), single-season passing completion percentage (74%), single-season touchdowns (37), and completions (353), among others. 

At Jackson State University, Shedeur holds the record for single-season touchdowns (40), completions (344), and completion percentage (70.5%). 

5. Shedeur threw a touchdown in 49 straight games.

If that statistic sounds crazy, it’s because it is. He basically threw a touchdown every game for four straight seasons. Because of that feat, in Division I—including both the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Football Championship Subdivision, the two tiers of NCAA college football—Shedeur holds the record for longest streak with a touchdown pass. 

Whatever happens next with his career, one thing we know for sure is that Shedeur Sanders is coming to the Cleveland Browns with a whole lot of fans and attention on his next moves. The people are ready to cheer on star talent who may not have been picked first, but can definitely still have the last word.

Even when he was prank-called during the draft process, Sanders responded with a positive outlook:

“I don’t feed into negativity,” he said.

As long as he keeps that mindset, Sanders will have a lot to look forward to winning.

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Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).