Shedeur Sanders had a strong final season of his collegiate career. The former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while completing an NCAA-leading 74.0% of his passes and adding four rushing touchdowns.
He entered the pre-draft process considered one of the top two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft — along with former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward. While the latter was selected first overall, the son of Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders had to wait until Day 3 to hear his name called. Carmelo Anthony recently took aim at NFL teams for allowing the 2024 All-American to remain on the board until the fifth round.
Carmelo Anthony Defends Deion and Shedeur Sanders Following Draft Day Slide
Anthony recently criticized NFL franchises for letting the younger Sanders fall to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Speaking on his podcast, “7PM in Brooklyn,” the soon-to-be Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer claimed:
“You can’t go from being he’s one of the two picks — he’s No. 1 or No. 2 pick — to just falling off the draft board. That’s a lot of conversations. That’s a lot of s**t. That’s a lot of phone calls, ‘Yo, don’t take him’. Now, they want to make it about his interviews. Like, get the f**k outta here,” Anthony said.
“Come on, bro, then they want to say he couldn’t read the play. What the f**k are y’all talking about now? You got to have an eye test, too. He can play. You can’t keep raising the bar on him every single time. ‘Oh, he can’t run out the pocket, can’t scramble’. What you mean? Go watch the film. He’s tackled every issue that everybody said he couldn’t do.”
Melo & Malik Nabers were HOT Shedeur Sanders slipped to the 5th round of the NFL Draft 😬
Malik: "He was the talk of the top 2 QB's in his class. There's no way in hell he goes 5th round."
Melo: "This is an attack at Prime." pic.twitter.com/n01uj4F7YS
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn)
Anthony added that Sanders has never done anything wrong and that everybody loved the vibe of the Buffaloes program during his time there. He stated the 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year shouldn’t be faulted for wearing flashy jewelry, noting that he hasn’t done anything illegal.
While he slipped in the draft, the Cleveland Browns quarterback will enter the NFL with plenty of fanfare. He has the top-selling jersey in the draft class so far, and all of the merchandise on his personal site has already sold out.
While it might seem paradoxical, Sanders falling this far in the draft to this team could be a blessing in disguise. The chip on his shoulder will only get bigger, and the competition for the starting job is softer than it could be in other places. All eyes will be on Cleveland to see what comes next.