It certainly wasn’t perfect timing, but Shedeur Sanders is hoping he landed in the perfect spot.

After one of the most shocking slides by a top draft prospect in NFL history, the former Colorado star quarterback finally got the call during the fifth round Saturday. The wait came to a close when he was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick.

“Thank you everybody who came to support,” Sanders said during a live stream on social media. “Thank you, everybody out there, all the fans. … Thank you for the Browns organization for giving me a chance. That’s all I needed.”

Sanders is the first Buffs quarterback drafted since Koy Detmer was a seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997. He’s the first CU player drafted by the Browns since guard Ryan Miller was a fifth-round pick in 2012.

He was also the second CU player taken in this year’s draft, after Heisman Trophy-winning receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter was the No. 2 overall pick Thursday by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Sanders went much later than anyone projected, however.

For months, Sanders was considered as one of the two best quarterbacks in the draft, along with Miami’s Cam Ward (who was selected No. 1 overall by Tennessee), and he was widely projected as a top-five or top-10 pick. ESPN projected a 97% chance that Sanders would be selected in the first round.

In the days leading up to the draft, however, Sanders’ stock dropped.It has been reported by draft insiders that Sanders did poorly in some pre-draft interviews, particularly with the New York Giants, who had the No. 3 pick. Sanders’ decision to not participate at the East-West Shrine Bowl, the NFL Combine and Big 12 pro day has been criticized, as well.

Sanders’ slide down and out of the first round was one of the biggest stories of the draft Thursday night, especially after the Giants traded back into the first round to take Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25.

On Friday night, Louisville’s Tyler Shough (No. 40 to New Orleans) was the only second-round quarterback, while Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (No. 92 to Seattle) and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (No. 94 to Cleveland) were taken in the third round.

There were no quarterbacks taken in the fourth round, and Sanders was the only one taken in the fifth.

“You can’t control the uncontrollable,” Sanders said on the live stream. “You can’t control that. So you just gotta remain positive, stay happy at all times and know God got you. I knew the whole time God had me. So I wasn’t really panicking, because I understood it’s about perfect timing.”

Cleveland, which passed on Sanders six times, actually traded up 22 spots to get him, sending the 166th pick and a sixth-rounder to Seattle.

“His interactions with us were positive,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a news conference when asked about the reports about Sanders. “We felt good with him as a person. He works hard, he’s a really good kid, he wants to be great, his teammates loved him in Colorado. I know he’ll come in here ready to work and ready to try to put his best foot forward.”

Berry said that it wasn’t the Browns’ plan to pick a second quarterback before Sanders continued to fall.

“We felt like he was a good, solid prospect at the most important position,” Berry said. “We felt like it got to the point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft. It’s a guy that we think can out-produce his draft slot.”

Despite going later than expected, Sanders will now embark on his NFL dream after a sensational college career.

Coached by his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur starred for Jackson State from 2021-22 before transferring to CU before the 2023 season.

Sanders became just the second player in Division I history to throw for over 14,000 yards (14,353) while completing at least 70% of his passes (70.6%). Only 13 players in D-I history have thrown for more yards and only seven have thrown more touchdown passes (134). He also set a D-I record by throwing a touchdown pass in 49 consecutive games — each of his last 49 career games.

Last season, Sanders led CU to a resurgent 9-4 record and a trip to the Alamo Bowl — two years after the Buffs went 1-11 before his arrival. He was named second-team All-American by the Associated Press, was named the Big 12 Conference offensive player of the year and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation’s top quarterback.

Sanders set more than 100 school records at CU, including single-season marks for passing yards (4,134), passing touchdowns (37) and completion percentage (74.0%) last season.

In his two seasons at CU, Sanders threw for 7,364 yards and a school-record 64 touchdown passes. He went 13-11 in his 24 starts at CU, a program that went 14-28 in the four seasons (2019-22) before Sanders got to Boulder.

Prior to transferring to CU, Sanders led Jackson State to a 23-3 record and two SWAC titles in two seasons. JSU won just 36.5% of its games (27-47) in the seven seasons before Sanders got there.

Sanders is just the eighth Buffs quarterback selected at any point in NFL Draft history, a list that includes Boyd Dowler (1959) and Darian Hagan (1992), who were drafted as receivers.

Now, Sanders will join a quarterback room in Cleveland that includes not only Gabriel, but 40-year-old Joe Flacco, entering his 18th season, and Kenny Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick of the Steelers who is on his third team as he goes into his fourth NFL season.

Berry said Sanders and all the quarterbacks will have a chance to compete for the starting job.

“Obviously Shedeur has grown up in the spotlight, but our expectation is for him to come in here and work and compete,” Berry said. “Nothing’s been promised, nothing will be given.”