Five teams selected quarterbacks in the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft. Shedeur Sanders was not one of them.
Projected by many pundits to be a first-round pick, the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback went undrafted again on the event’s second night in Green Bay, continuing a much-talked-about slide.
Sanders, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was one of the biggest storylines heading into the second night of the draft after multiple interested teams passed on the quarterback Thursday.
The five quarterbacks chosen were No. 1 Cam Ward (Titans), No. 25 Jaxson Dart (Giants), No. 40 Tyler Shough (Saints), No. 92 Jalen Milroe (Seahawks), and No. 94 Dillon Gabriel (Browns).
ESPN reported during its draft show early in the third round that the likeliest landing spot for Sanders would be Pittsburgh with the No. 83 pick. The Steelers were rumored to have been interested in taking Sanders in the first round at No. 21, but went with defensive tackle Derrick Harmon instead. The team took Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson with the 83rd pick instead. The Steelers are also interested in adding Aaron Rodgers to their quarterback room, which could have influenced their decision not to jump on Sanders early in the draft.
“This is a damn disgrace,” ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith posted on social media midway through the third round. “How in the hell is @Shedeur not off the board, not drafted yet. Y’all still think this doesn’t have anything to do with teams hatin on @DeionSanders. This kid is a first rounder.”
Sanders transferred to Colorado from Jackson State in late 2022 when his father was named head coach of the Buffaloes. In their first two seasons in Boulder, the Sanders family (brother Shilo also plays for the Buffaloes) revitalized the program. The Buffaloes went to their first bowl game in eight years, drove millions of dollars in tickets, and launched their program into the national spotlight. Sanders threw for more than 4,000 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024. The Jaguars made a huge move to get Sanders’s Colorado teammate Travis Hunter, at No. 2 overall.
While preparing for the draft, Sanders did not sign an agent, which is also the case for the 2024 and 2025 No. 1 picks Caleb Williams and Cam Ward. Both Sanders and Hunter are represented by SMAC Entertainment for marketing deals.
Shortly before Friday night’s coverage began, President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, about Sanders and his father. “What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?” he posted. Trump wrote that Sanders has “PHENOMENAL GENES” and “should be ‘picked’ IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN.”
