While the 2024 college football year was still underway, Shedeur Sanders was a potential candidate for QB1 in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, over the weeks and months to follow, his draft stock took a dramatic hit. Still, on most mock drafts and media boards, a first-round selection felt like a virtual guarantee.
Until the day of the actual draft. A slide that began in the first round, extended into the third day of the draft, before he was finally taken with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. Where did it go wrong? Let’s find out.
Where Did Shedeur Sanders and the Family Go Wrong?
Fox Sports compiled a magnum opus detailing the entire journey the Buffaloes’ star had once the draft process officially got underway. However, the key subject was one simple line that an anonymous scout told Henry McKenna.
“He probably misplayed his hand during the process,” the scout said. “But he is better than where he got drafted.” Unfortunately, there were a ton of missteps in the months that came together to affect his draft day position.
The first and the simplest were his choices at the NFL Scouting Combine. Deciding against partaking in the physical activities, he chose to only give interviews, and that too to just seven teams. While atypical for top of the draft prospects, his play didn’t warrant that kind of reverence for most teams.
But that wasn’t all. McKenna added, “A top-seven team asked Sanders to study its playbook for an install at their interview, but he showed up unprepared and instead used the time to interview the team’s leadership. He asked what the plan was to support him.”
While an appropriate question, the timing was completely off. “That question might have been OK — after he scored an A+ on the install. But because Sanders didn’t do the work the team requested, the questions came off as presumptuous.”
Instead, it became a tag that would continue to hang over his head. “Sanders’ lack of professionalism, preparation, and self-awareness killed his chances with at least one team.”
But, according to the writer, a slice of the blame lay at NFL legend, two-time Super Bowl Champion, and Shedeur Sanders’ head coach and father, Deion Sanders’ feet.
The repeated insistence from one of the most popular names in the entire football world about his quarterback’s talent did not translate to teams in the league. Moreover, his borderline arrogance about where his son would land was clearly not in line with what the NFL saw.
“Deion Sanders clearly misjudged his power and Sanders’ talent. Repeatedly. As shown on broadcasts, Deion watched expectantly when the Saints were on the clock at ninth overall, though multiple reports indicated that New Orleans wouldn’t take a QB there.”
The assumption ultimately ended up costing Sanders a potential higher selection in the draft and close to $40 million in salary. “The Sanders family was out of touch — literally — with the NFL.”