Shedeur Sanders’ dramatic fall to
Day 3 of the NFL draft is still baffling
[April 28, 2025]
By ROB MAADDI
Shedeur Sanders’ dramatic fall to Day 3 of the NFL draft baffled
fans, analysts and some general managers and coaches.
Sanders was considered a top-five overall pick after finishing his
career at Colorado, but he wasn’t even among the first five
quarterbacks selected.
He slipped all the way to the fifth round without any obvious
explanation, leaving everyone to speculate about his shortcomings
and question whether Hall of Fame father Deion Sanders somehow
scared teams away.
Shedeur Sanders was never involved in any off-field incidents, yet
his character was criticized by various media outlets who cited
unidentified sources in the weeks leading up the draft.
The Cleveland Browns ended up taking Sanders with the 144th pick
after they were thought to be considering him at No. 2 overall. The
Browns even selected Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel in the third round at
No. 94 but then moved up in the draft to snag Sanders one pick
before the Philadelphia Eagles were on the clock.
Though the Eagles have a franchise QB in Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts,
Browns general manager Andrew Berry worked in Philadelphia with GM
Howie Roseman and knows he’s not afraid to take the best available
player on the board.
That’s how Hurts ended up on the Eagles in 2020 when Carson Wentz
was already there. That doesn’t mean Philly was targeting Sanders,
but Cleveland had waited long enough.
“We felt like he was a good, solid prospect at the most important
position,” Berry said. “We felt like it got to a point where he was
probably mispriced relative to the draft. Really, the acquisition
cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce
his draft slot.
“I think, obviously, Shedeur has kind of grown up in the spotlight,
but our expectation is for him to come in here and work and compete.
Nothing’s been promised. Nothing will be given.”
Sanders, who played for his father in college, said all the right
things after he was finally selected.
“Nothing really affected me the last couple of days, just really
pushed having faith, understanding God really had me,” Sanders said.
“I’m blessed. Besides that, it’s not really anything that changes.
The love of the game is still the same. When you get on the field,
it wasn’t too much negativity being said. I know I’ve got to clean
up some things in my game for me to be at my best, but that’s why I
take each offseason one at a time and fix it. So I think that was
just outside of football getting in the way, but therefore I have an
opportunity now. Then we’re about to get on grass really soon.”
Three team officials told The Associated Press on Friday they had
first-round grades on Sanders. Another team executive said he gave
him a second-round grade. All four had starting QBs. Broncos coach
Sean Payton and Patriots personnel boss Eliot Wolf both said it was
“surprising” to see Sanders drop that far.
Payton watched his pro day and said Sanders was “outstanding.”
Titans general Mike Borgonzi praised him. So did Steelers coach Mike
Tomlin, though Pittsburgh kept passing him and wound up with Will
Howard in the sixth round.
So what caused Sanders’ unprecedented slide?
The knocks against Sanders’ football skills are that he takes too
many sacks, isn’t athletic enough and doesn’t have great arm
strength.
Louis Riddick, an ESPN analyst who was a director of pro personnel
with Philadelphia and Washington, called that “absurd.”
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Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders speaks during a press
conference at the NFL football scouting combine Friday, Feb. 28,
2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
“It’s a personal discussion. It’s whether or not
teams are comfortable with everything that comes along with Shedeur
in terms of who he is as a person, all the people that are
surrounding him in terms of his inner circle and whether or not
teams deem that something they’re comfortable with,” Riddick said on
Saturday’s broadcast. “Right or wrong, that’s the only conclusion
you can come to at this point because, obviously, it’s a subjective
argument as to what his actual physical skills are on the football
field.
“But I think if you are trying to be objective about it, and remove
everything else surrounding this young man and everything that comes
along with him, he can play the game of football. This is a guy
who’s extremely accurate. He’s extremely mobile. He has a lot of
mental horsepower. He played the game at a high level. It’s as
simple as that, but if you go into this whole evaluation process and
you’re already biased toward feeling you want to emphasize the
negative and I’m not saying that’s the case for me, but if you want
to emphasize some of the things that really don’t have to do with
anything on the football field and you get caught up in all the rest
of it, it can start skewing your judgment as to what this young man
actually brings in terms of value.”
Sanders, like his “Prime Time” father, oozes confidence that can be
misconstrued as arrogance. He probably made more money off name,
imagine and likeness deals in college than he will in his rookie
contract. His flash and style could rub some folks — maybe
old-school assistant coaches — the wrong way.
But plenty of athletes are confident, bordering on cocky. Cam Ward,
the No. 1 overall pick, turned to Tennessee’s coaching staff after
an impressive throw at his pro day and said: “I’m solidifying it.”
Other players have had more controlling dads. Archie Manning forced
the Chargers to trade Eli Manning to the Giants in 2004. John Elway
refused to play for the Colts in 1983.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper, who covered his 42nd NFL draft, had Sanders listed
as the top quarterback on his board. He said he was “disgusted” by
the free fall and spoke strongly about Sanders several times.
“I think there’s a lot of perspective that isn’t reality in regards
to Shedeur and Deion,” Kiper said.
Like him or not, Sanders will get his opportunity to prove the
critics and the doubters wrong in the NFL.
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