Shedeur Sanders wasn’t taken into the fifth round of the Draft, and that went incredibly well for the league.
The star Colorado quarterback was the 144th pick in the fifth round of the NFL draft on Saturday, a stunning slide for a prospect considered by many a first-round certainty.
The Cleveland Browns selected him as Sanders was a lightning rod during draft season.
While many projected him as a first-round selection, he went undrafted on the first two nights.
Many fans would usually check out after the second day, but now this time around.
Because Shedeur Sanders was still not selected, many fans tuned in to the Draft for all three days.
According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, Days 2 and 3 of the 2025 draft drew an average audience of 7.3 million across all platforms, which was a 40% increase over last year’s coverage.
Only the 2020 NFL Draft averaged more second and third night viewers, which isn’t shocking since most of the world was stuck inside due to the pandemic.
Lewis noted: “Outside of 2020 — an outlier year in which the draft was among the only live sportscasts for weeks — no other day two telecast reached even the six million mark.”
“Draft viewership is impacted by many factors, but nothing moves the needle quite as much as a prominent QB going later than expected,” he added.
“Back in 2014, before the sweeteners of out-of-home viewing and a broadcast network simulcast, the first round of the Draft averaged 12.37 million viewers when Johnny Manziel went from an expected top ten pick to being selected late in the first round. Yet even the draft slides of Manziel and Aaron Rodgers before him did not spill into a second — much less third — day.”
Shedeur Sanders is Going To Garner Attention If He Plays Or Not
Once again, the Cleveland Browns have another lightning-rod quarterback on the team who will garner attention just like Johnny Manziel used to.
Shedeur Sanders might not see the field once in 2025, but he will most certainly dominate headlines.
