Searching for answers about Shedeur Sanders' precipitous draft slide, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated seems to have found one-Sanders didn’t catch “mistakes intentionally planted” in an install during pre-draft evaluations.

The Browns finally traded up to No.144-overall in the fifth round to end Sanders' humiliation but even then he was their second choice, having drafted Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel in the third round.  That would seem to place him firmly behind DeShaun Watson, who many believe will never take another snap in Cleveland, veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, and Gabriel.  Most teams carry only two or three QBs into the regular season.

While there have been multiple attempts to justify and/or criticize the slide, Breer touches on two instances that took place between Sanders and evaluators during the pre-draft process that may have worked against him. The first was an interception a team replayed for him in Indianapolis that Sanders “didn’t take blame for.” Breer goes on to say that “as they dove deeper into it, and how it might relate to the NFL level, Sanders simply concluded that he and the staff he was talking to might not be a match.”

In another visit, Breer reports Sanders didn’t pick up on intentionally planted mistakes in an install, and when called on it “the resulting exchange wasn’t pretty.”

Regardless of why he fell, Sanders is now a Day 3 pick who will need to impress in more ways than one as he looks to carve out his path in the NFL.