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Johnny Manziel knows the pressure that comes with being drafted as a quarterback by the Cleveland Browns. Since its return to the NFL in 1999, the franchise has cycled through 38 different starting quarterbacks, including eight games from Manziel between 2014 and 2015, in its ever-elusive search for stability under center. Now, fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders hopes to win the job and break that cycle. Manziel sees a path for Sanders to do so.

"He's going to an opportunity now in Cleveland with a quarterback situation that, honestly, he can come out of and win the job," Manziel said last week on his podcast Glory Daze. "There's no doubt about that. I think he'll do well. I really do. I think the kid works really hard, I think he loves the game of ball. When it comes down to it, if you have a guy like that that loves the game -- obviously growing up around it his whole life -- I think he'll be successful."

The Browns selected Sanders in the fifth round with the No. 144 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft back in April, ending a dramatic slide for the former Colorado standout and son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Once projected as a potential first-rounder, Sanders had to wait until Day 3 to hear his name called.

Manziel can relate to the wait. He spent much of the first round in the green room during the 2014 NFL Draft before Cleveland took him at No. 22 overall. While the circumstances were different, Manziel understands the emotions that come with slipping further than expected.

"I think a lot of guys in that position -- I think he, to be honest, handled it as good as you possibly can, with a smile on your face and just 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 going to be off the board in the first five picks.' And you sit there for five rounds," Manziel said. "That's a highly anxious spot to be in. I mean, even for me sitting and just waiting until the end of the first round was like -- I don't think I would have been able to handle it the way that he did. It's mad props to him to be able to face that and take it straight on."

Best offseason move by each AFC team: Browns drafting Shedeur Sanders worthwhile gamble
Tyler Sullivan
Best offseason move by each AFC team: Browns drafting Shedeur Sanders worthwhile gamble

No prospect drew more public attention leading up to the NFL Draft than Sanders, with reports surfacing that teams had concerns about his coachability and demeanor. Despite all the accolades and record-setting numbers from Sanders during his two seasons at Colorado, questions remained about his maturity and leadership. Reports from the NFL Scouting Combine were mixed, with teams reportedly describing Sanders as "brash" and "arrogant" in interviews.

All that attention hasn't faded since Sanders arrived in Cleveland -- if anything, it's intensified.

"I'm watching rookie minicamp stuff and they're like detailing every single report of every single throw," Manziel said. "It's f---ing crazy. It's rookie minicamp. ... It just adds that question of just like you're getting peppered with so much s---. Why do I think he slipped? I don't know. Going through the pre-draft process, you have to be super, super prepared about certain things. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't."

Sanders is part of a crowded quarterback competition in Cleveland leading up to the 2025 season with Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett also in the room.