"That's a highly anxious spot" - Johnny Manziel sympathizes with Deion Sanders on witnessing Shedeur Sanders' draft slide

Former Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel has nothing but praise for Shedeur Sanders and Deion Sanders for how he handled the draft day slide. Sanders had hopes of being a top-five pick, but he ended up falling to the fifth round. It was a stunning fall, but the Cleveland Browns ended up trading up to get him.

After the slide, Manziel said he doesn't think he could have handled that slide to the fifth round, as he's surprised Shedeur did so well with it all.

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"To be honest, I think he handled it as good as you possibly can with a smile on your face and just letting letting everything kind of play itself out because it’s not easy to sit there, early in the draft process, him and Deion sitting there like ‘we’re gonna be in first five picks’ and you sit there for five rounds," Manziel said.

"That’s a highly like anxious spot to be in. Even for me, sitting and waiting to the end of the first round,” Manziel added. I was like, I don’t think I would have been able to handle it the way he did. Props to him to be able to face that and just take it straight on.”

Sanders ended up being picked 144th by the Browns. Although he had a draft day slide, Manziel believes Sanders ended up landing in a good spot in Cleveland.

Sanders went 353-for-477 for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions last season as he led the Buffaloes to a bowl game.

Johnny Manziel believes Shedeur Sanders could win the Browns' QB job

Although Shedeur Sanders slid to the fifth round, Johnny Manziel believes he's in the perfect spot.

Sanders was drafted by the Browns, who need a quarterback, and Manziel thinks Coach Prime's son can win the starting job.

“He’s got an opportunity now in Cleveland with a quarterback situation, that he can honestly come out of and win the job,” Manziel said. “I think he’ll do well. I really do. I think the kid works really hard and loves the game of ball, when it comes down to it, when you have a guy like that, that loves the game. I think he’ll be successful.”

Sanders has performed well in OTAs and will need to continue his success in training camp and preseason to win the job.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton