The 2025 NFL Draft wasn’t one teeming with a lot of high-end quarterback talent. For most of the draft process, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders were the two players who separated themselves from the rest of the pack. However, once the proceedings officially got underway, it was a different story altogether.
Through the first two days and three rounds, five signal callers saw their names come off the board. The last was Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon, taken with the 94th overall pick. But that still left Sanders on the board, prompting an immediate reaction from the best quarterback of the generation, Patrick Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes Stunned By Shedeur Sanders’ Slip
The Cam Ward selection was obvious and the assumed choice at number one for the Tennessee Titans. However, Sanders falling beyond the Pittsburgh Steelers at 21 was the first canary in the coal mine.
Then, the New York Giants traded back into the first round, but not for Sanders. Instead, they took Jaxson Dart to be their QB of the future. With the first round coming to a close, a grim reality set in. NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed that Sanders falling into the third round was a possibility.
When the New Orleans Saints chose to select Tyler Shough at 40, that possibility started looking more realistic, and as each name came off the board, the son of Deion Sanders continued his free fall.
However, Jalen Milroe and Dillon Gabriel going within two picks of each other, at 92 and 94, respectively, was the final straw. With the teams left on the board, it was unlikely that another quarterback’s name would be called in the third round.
As a result, Sanders was going to be a Day 3 selection. Two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl Champion Patrick Mahomes couldn’t hide his shock at the way things were unfolding. On his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Mahomes remarked: “Crazy.”
Crazy
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) April 26, 2025
It isn’t hard to understand why the greatest quarterback of this generation and one of the all-time greats had such a reaction. Rarely, if ever, has the NFL seen a potential top-three pick fall out of the first three rounds entirely.
While it has led to a ton of speculation about potential reasons, the fact is that the 2025 NFL Draft will start its fourth round with Sanders still on the board. However, for those looking for a silver lining, there is one.
With the hype and the coverage surrounding Deion Sanders’ son, the Colorado star was always going to have a target on its back. Now, as a fourth-rounder, those expectations have been neutered, allowing him to play a freer, expectation-less brand of football.