The Baltimore Ravens were regarded as having crushed it in the 2025 NFL Draft once again, landing one of the best value picks in the entire draft in Malaki Starks during the first round. Controversy followed with their Mike Green selection, but he was regarded as a Top 20 talent Baltimore took at No. 59 overall.
Kiper's post-draft grades were fairly positive for Baltimore, as they earned a perfectly respectable B+ mark. However, Kiper's bias is clearly showing when one looks at the grade he gave to the Cleveland Browns after they took Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round.
Kiper made himself one of the stars of Draft weekend by almost blowing a gasket after Sanders continued his unprecedented and confusing slide out of the first four rounds of the order. After Shedeur landed with the Browns, Kiper, who had Sanders ranked as his No. 1 quarterback and No. 5 overall player, overcompensated hard.
In Kiper's post-Draft grades, Cleveland was the only team to earn an A+ mark in the entire draft. Sanders' selection is clearly playing a part in that, as that assemblage of talent is far from an A+ draft.
Mel Kiper Jr. favoring Browns over Ravens shows Shedeur Sanders bias
While the Browns did get a haul from Jacksonville, and Mason Graham profiles as a future star, they had the chance to select a unicorn in Travis Hunter, who was clearly the best player in the draft, and they passed on him. That should earn them a demerit.
While the Browns did get some good players, including Carson Schwesinger and Quinshon Judkins in the second round, it seems hard to justify a class with two non-first round quarterbacks, two running backs, and an off-ball linebacker at No. 33 as an A+ draft.
With Deshaun Watson likely out for the year with his Achilles injury, Sanders is currently the fourth-string quarterback on the roster. Joe Flacco might be the most productive player Cleveland has this year, Kenny Pickett was acquired for a fifth-round pick last year, and the third-rounder used on Dillon Gabriel suggests he will be above Shedeur on the depth chart.
Sanders may end up being a solid quarterback in Cleveland, but to give the Browns an A+ draft for picking someone they didn't even believe to be better than Dillon Gabriel shows that Kiper is letting his love for Sanders get in the way of making his draft grades.