The signs were there for Shedeur Sanders’ draft slide.
Leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, plenty of reports indicated that Colorado’s star quarterback might not be the top-five pick many expected him to be. As draft night unfolded, that came true.
Beyond Cam Ward going No. 1, no quarterback, including Sanders, was taken inside the top 20 picks.
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Here’s why high-drafting teams in the first round passed on Sanders.
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Sanders wasn’t taken in the top 20 picks during Thursday’s first round. Some time ago, he seemed destined to be a Brown, Giant, or Raider. None of those teams selected the former Buffaloes quarterback.
Cleveland even traded down from its opportunity to take his former teammate, Travis Hunter, going down to pick No. 5, where it selected Michigan DT Mason Graham.
New York also focused on defense rather than taking Sanders, Jaxson Dart, or another quarterback. Penn State star Abdul Carter joined the Giants’ pass rush with the No. 3 overall pick.
Las Vegas went offense at No. 6, but it didn’t take a young quarterback after acquiring Geno Smith earlier in the offseason. Ashton Jeanty joined the Raiders, leaving Sanders to fall further. That slide continued past the Saints, another projected landing spot with Derek Carr’s ongoing injuries. New Orleans took offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. instead.
Sanders was once a virtual lock to be a top-10 pick, but his draft night didn’t turn into what was once expected. Another sleeper team for a quarterback, the Jets, passed for an offensive lineman in Armand Membou.
There weren’t many quarterback-needy teams within picks No. 10-20, so Sanders’ fall continued into the late first round. Even the Steelers, one of the later projections for Sanders, didn’t take the opportunity to select him despite Mason Rudolph being the QB1 on their roster right now.
Sanders’ slide continued past pick No. 21, leaving the potential for teams to trade up into the late first round to take him or Dart.
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