Shedeur Sanders was expected to be the second quarterback selected in the 2025 NFL draft. Instead, he’s still waiting to hear his name called entering the draft’s final day.
Sanders, who was projected to be drafted as high as the No. 2 overall pick in some mock drafts, was not among the 102 players selected during the first three rounds of the draft. In one of the most stunning slides in NFL draft history, a quarterback who was projected as a first-round pick in the vast majority of mock drafts was passed over for the entirety of the draft’s first two days.
Five other quarterbacks were selected on the first two days. Miami’s Cam Ward, as expected, was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the No. 1 overall pick. Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart was the only other quarterback drafted in Round 1 by the New York Giants with the No. 25 overall pick. Louisville’s Tyler Shough was the only quarterback drafted in Round 2 (No. 40, New Orleans Saints). No QB was drafted for more than 50 picks after that until the Seattle Seahawks drafted Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (No. 92) and the Cleveland Browns drafted Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (No. 94) late in Round 3.
As such, Sanders finds himself waiting alongside the likes of Will Howard, Quinn Ewers and Kyle McCord – all of whom were projected as middle-round picks entering the draft – to get the call from the league on Saturday.
Sanders was widely viewed by NFL draft analysts – though seemingly not by NFL teams that needed a quarterback entering this year’s draft – as a first-round talent after he completed 74% of his passing attempts for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns with 10 interceptions at Colorado last season. His draft fall may have less to do with his on-field talent as the impressions he made on teams off the field, however, as numerous NFL insiders have indicated that Sanders’ interviews with teams at the NFL Scouting Combine went poorly.
On March 4th, 2025 I wrote this in my "25 most interesting things I heard at the NFL combine" column about Shedeur Sanders. pic.twitter.com/DUkdNnvJL2
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) April 26, 2025
Teams that aren’t sold on Sanders being a franchise quarterback could be passing him up because they’re fearful drafting him would create distractions, especially since his father – Colorado head coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders – is known for being vocal and opinionated.
Ultimately, Sanders’ fall can likely be attributed to a combination of both on- and off-field factors. Wherever his slide ends at this point, though, it will be far from his father’s proclamation that his son would be a top-five overall pick.
He will be a top 5 pick. Where yo son going ? Lololol I got time today. Lololol https://t.co/tGS6dfm7iy
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) May 1, 2024
