Browns' Shedeur Sanders' draft slide doesn't matter — now he can follow in all-time great footsteps

In 15 or 20 years, Shedeur Sanders won't be remembered for how far he slid down the NFL Draft board.

Instead, he'll be remembered for what he did on the field in the National Football League.

And so on Saturday, when the Browns traded up to draft him at No. 144 overall, Sanders' draft slide no longer mattered.

It's now his chance to follow in the footsteps of under-drafted quarterbacks, including some of the greatest of all time. Aaron Rodgers' had a famous draft-night slide. Joe Montana was a third-round pick. Tom Brady went in the sixth round.

Sanders very well may wind up nowhere near those all-timers on the field. But the ball is now back in his hands.

Draft prospects can wind up feeling powerless as their professional future is determined by whiteboards and algorithms in a room full of humans with whims and fancies that might not always make perfect sense.

Sanders was the example this year, getting talked about more on Thursday night's broadcast than any player who actually was picked. Then when he didn't go on Friday, either, the whole sports world was shocked.

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It's not his fault that he's the son of Deion Sanders. If anything, it brought him to this point.

Maybe there's a family brashness that scared teams away. That's not the point now, either.

The Sanders family may still make plenty of noise.

Shedeur, though, needs only to speak with his play on the field.

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He's an immensely talented QB, draft slide or no draft slide. At Colorado, he had a terrible running game and a terrible offensive line and was still one of the best passers in the country.

He may not throw the ball as hard as some of the best QBs do, but some of the best don't throw hard, either.

Sanders makes every throw. He puts the ball on time and on target. He can move and extend plays with his legs, too.

For all intents and purposes, Sanders is a legitimate NFL quarterback. He may start sooner rather than later, and he may last a long time in this league.

On Thursday night, after the first round concluded, Sanders told those gathered at his draft party that "all this is of course fuel to the fire" and that "I don't feel like this happened for no reason."

Now, the football world will be watching closely as Sanders enters the next chapter of his career.

The story isn't yet written. The draft slide can wind up as just a small footnote.

It'll all come down to what Sanders makes of this chance, given to him maybe a night later than expected, but still given to him.

Sanders is officially an NFL quarterback. The rest of his journey, with the football, is in his right hand.

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