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Shedeur Sanders is full of gratitude – and at the top of Browns depth chart | Opinion
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- Shedeur Sanders is full of gratitude – and at the top of Browns depth chart | Opinion
You can't blame Shedeur Sanders for not wanting to mark the first anniversary of his inglorious slide in the 2025 NFL Draft by rehashing what, how and why it all happened.
It's 2026 now and the second-year Cleveland Browns quarterback was in no mood to deeply reflect on the most embarrassing episode of his life as he met with the media following a minicamp practice on Tuesday.
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"I'm thankful that everything happened how it happened," Sanders said.
A quick press conference stat: Sanders mentioned the word "thankful" nine times in one response after someone asked what stood out from his experience of the past year.
Talk about messaging. We get it. And that's no knock. I'm convinced that Sanders genuinely recognizes gratitude as essential for his soul.
"I don't look at anything as a negative," he added. "When you start looking at things as a negative, that's when you grow spite and hatred, you know, and nothing positive comes out of that.
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"I'm blessed. I was in a position to where I can handle everything that comes my way. So, now I feel bulletproof."
Good for you, No. 2.
More: Shedeur Sanders declares himself 'bulletproof' a year after draft fall
Will Shedeur Sanders start for the Browns?
Of course, as another super-hyped draft looms, so many of the details of Sanders' controversial experience have been well-documented. Projected as a first-rounder, he was bypassed on Day 1. Then Day 2. There was the silly prank phone call from the 21-year-old son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, with the prankster posing as Saints GM Mickey Loomis with news of an impending selection. Conspiracy theories went viral.
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Sanders was finally picked by the Browns in the fifth round – the suspense, by the way, juiced an all-time viewership record for Day 3 of the draft – and he wasn't even the first quarterback the team drafted. Was everybody on board with that pick? Or did it come from an authority higher than GM Andrew Berry?
In the days that followed, various reasons for the slide emerged, including some raised by a handful of NFL executives who spoke anonymously to USA TODAY Sports , which ranged from questions about his leadership style, talent and influence of his Hall of Fame father, Deion.
No, the draft is not an exact science.
And look at him now. One year later, Sanders, 24, is anything but a man defined by the draft drama. With a new coach in Todd Monken calling the shots, Sanders has a legitimate shot at beating out Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel for the starting job.
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In fact, given his improvement over the course of his rookie year, when he started the last seven games (3-4) and wound up in the Pro Bowl Games as an injury replacement, now the expectation is that Sanders will head into the coming season as QB1.
The first time the Browns hit the field in a practice under Monken, Sanders took the first quarterback reps with the first-team offense.
"He was first man up," Monken responded when it was pointed out.
Watson, it should be noted, rotated with Sanders in taking first-team snaps.
Browns coaching change boosting Shedeur Sanders
Still, it's a different flow for Sanders, who didn't take any first-team reps last season until an injury to Gabriel opened the door for him to crack the starting lineup. And while Sanders didn't want to dwell on last year, he certainly sent a message of gratitude – intended or not – about the difference in the coaching influence. Monken, the former Ravens offensive coordinator, filled the vacancy created with the firing of Kevin Stefanski.
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Sanders didn't mention Stefanski by name, but he didn't have to.
"Coach Monken is great," Sanders said. "And all the other coaches on the staff (are) extremely great. You've got to understand they embrace you just as a person and then they push you each and every day, in the meeting room and on the field, in the weight room. Like, it's a new vibe. It's a new energy."
Sanders has spent much of the offseason in Cleveland, which has been noticed. During the recent NFL owners meetings, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam told reporters that it spoke to the quarterback's "dedication for wanting to be an NFL quarterback and understanding what it takes." Haslam added that "his body looked better."
Naturally, someone followed up on Tuesday asked Sanders about his training regimen. Interestingly, he seemingly took it as a cue to heap more praise on Monken.
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"I think it's honestly about like talking to coach," he said. "I think coach just spoke life into me. And when you do that, you get the best result from me."
On top of gratitude, this emerging bond with Monken was a prevailing theme as the media-savvy quarterback – now wearing No. 2, the number he wore at Colorado, Jackson State and in high school – held court.
As Sanders put it, "I'm a relationship-based person, so I take relationships extremely serious."
Sanders embracing Todd Monken's playbook
Which apparently helps, too, in learning Monken's playbook. Remember, as Sanders languished as a fourth-stringer well into training camp last season, there were rumblings that he struggled with Stefanski's playbook.
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Not so much now, apparently, as it relates to Monken's system. And as much as he didn't want to look back on last year, when his relationship with Stefanski seemed strained, Sanders finished off his session with what sounded like a laser dart – wrapped in glowing praise for Monken & Co.
"I know how I learn," he said. "So, knowing that I know how I learn is great…and the coaches are able to, like, communicate in different ways to help you learn. And that's why I appreciate the coaching staff, honestly, because you could say somebody don't know how to learn, but it's like, how did the person get all the way to this level if you don't know how to learn?
"So, then you've got to change the perspective and think, 'Does he not know how to learn? ... Does he not know how to learn or do I not know how to communicate with him?' It's just simple as that. So, I'm just thankful that my coaches now … are extremely embracing."
The moral of this story: What a difference a year makes.
Contact Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shedeur Sanders starts Browns' offseason as QB1 over Deshaun Watson
