The Shedeur Sanders draft story will be told for a long time, as the quarterback experienced one of the harshest draft slides in the history of organized professional sports.
Long considered a first-round lock and the second-best quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft behind Cam Ward, Sanders didn’t come off the board until Day 3, when the Cleveland Browns finally picked him in the fifth round — only after reaching for quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
The fall was so precipitous that some NFL insiders suggested Sanders return to the collegiate ranks (even if he had to violate the rules to do so), while former players were convinced the league was involved in a collusion conspiracy against the Sanders family.
With the draft now in the rearview mirror, plenty of details have emerged explaining why Sanders wasn’t selected until No. 144 overall.
Shedeur Sanders Didn’t Take Criticism Well in Pre-Draft Interviews, Reveals Colin Cowherd
Appearing on the latest episode of the radio show “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” NFL analyst Colin Cowherd revealed some eye-opening details about Sanders’ pre-draft interviews that illuminate some of the red flags that pushed the quarterback down draft boards.
"When a coach called him out… it didn't sit well."@ColinCowherd discusses the 2 red flags that reportedly appeared during Shedeur Sanders' pre-draft interviews. pic.twitter.com/9FWawyPssK
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 29, 2025
Cowherd first brought up the NFL Draft Combine, where Sanders infamously had poor interviews with multiple teams. The analyst mentioned that teams presented Sanders with video of his worst plays from college, and the quarterback did not take the criticism well.
“Shedeur Sanders, apparently, didn’t take to it well. And at one point, one of the few teams that was actually interested in him said, ‘Well, what do you make of this really bad play?’ And Shedeur responded, ‘You know what? Maybe I’m not the guy for you,'” Cowherd revealed.
The analyst then moved on to the topic of install packages, which have been a hot topic since the New York Giants passed on Sanders to draft Jaxson Dart No. 25 overall as the second quarterback off the board.
“Teams will install mistakes intentionally in the install [package], and they want you to catch them. Shedeur Sanders didn’t, and when a coach called him out [on it], once again it didn’t sit well.”
"When a coach called him out… it didn't sit well."@ColinCowherd discusses the 2 red flags that reportedly appeared during Shedeur Sanders' pre-draft interviews. pic.twitter.com/9FWawyPssK
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 29, 2025
Sanders is coming off a dominant season, leading the Big 12 in completion rate (74.0%), passing yards (4,134), and passing touchdowns (37). The production is there, which is why he was a highly regarded QB prospect heading into the draft cycle.
However, a quarterback is expected to be a leader on and off the field, and Sanders’ history of throwing teammates under the bus and not taking accountability for his mistakes — which, as Cowherd explains, bled into his combine interviews — rightfully gave teams pause about his intangibles and leadership qualities.
Again, the talent and pedigree are there. Shedeur Sanders comes from NFL royalty and was clearly one of the most gifted players in the entire draft class, regardless of position. The Browns have a complicated QB room, but he’s the best player in it. If he shows maturity and poise at the next level, Cleveland may have gotten the steal of the draft.
But there’s clearly a long way for Sanders to go before he gets there.