A year later, Browns' Shedeur Sanders sets bar for NFL Draft craziness originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

A year later, it's at least a somewhat logical question to ask: Who will be this draft's Shedeur Sanders?

Don't think about it too hard, though. There's no way anyone can match in the 2026 NFL Draft what the Colorado Buffaloes QB did in 2025 before being taken by the Cleveland Browns.

Sanders had been projected within a couple months of the draft, by some analysts, as a potential No. 1 overall pick.

Even as it was happening, it was like a bizarro universe was playing out, because ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. continued to lose his mind that Sanders wasn't being drafted yet.

And this wasn't just any player. This was a flashy quarterback who's the son of the all-time great Deion Sanders.

It was headline-grabbing news beyond just the NFL. The sports world, and even beyond, noticed that this was happening. President Donald Trump weighed in.

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How could that possibly be matched during this year's draft?

It would probably either have to be a QB or someone who is related to a very famous person, or both.

But there really isn't a lot of quarterback hype in this draft outside of expected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, who under no circumstances would undergo a Sanders-like free fall.

There also aren't any names near the top of the board with super famous relations.

The Sanders story simply isn't one that you can replicate. Even if his draft slide looks a lot more justified after how he played as a rookie, it was still crazy in the moment. There won't be anything that matches that this year.

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