Shedeur Sanders has taken the collegiate football world by storm over the past few seasons in Boulder, Colo. Even before then, while playing with Jackson State, there have been high expectations of an NFL future for the son of Coach “Prime” Deion Sanders.
For most of this past season, the debate has been whether Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward out of Miami will be the first quarterback off the board or the first overall pick. If Cam Ward gets selected to be the future of Nashville with the Tennessee Titans, then surely Sanders will end up not far after in either New York or Cleveland, right? Las Vegas was even on the table until Pete Carroll came into town and brought Geno Smith with him from Seattle.
But what happens if the Giants, who have signed both Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson this offseason, and the Browns, who traded for Kenny Pickett not too long ago, pass on a signal-caller in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft?
Will the Giants and Browns Pass on a QB in Round 1?
With all the rumblings occurring in the NFL world about the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns potentially skipping out on a Round 1 Quarterback, this could alter what the rest of Round 1 looks like, including not seeing a quarterback taken after the Titans, should they take Cam Ward first overall.
“Quarterbacks shape the flow of the NFL Draft more than any other position. Right now, it feels like both Cleveland and New York are leaning away from selecting one at the top”, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter added fuel to that belief earlier this week. Les Snead echoed a similar sentiment on ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ saying, ‘We will see the least amount of quarterbacks selected in the first round in a long time.
The closer the NFL Draft gets, the more predictions before the 2024 collegiate season have gone to the wayside. But in the NFL, anything can happen, especially come draft night. Trades have made headlines and shocked the system before. But what if quarterback-needy teams make no trades? What could an NFL future look like for Sanders if he is not the first overall pick?
Shedeur Sanders Falls to Second Round in Latest PFSN Mock Draft
The latest PSFN Mock Draft still has one of these two teams not intending to pick a quarterback in Round 1, grabbing Shedeur Sanders at the very start of Round 2- the Cleveland Browns with pick 33.
The 6’2”, 215-pound quarterback is coming off of one of his most efficient seasons yet. He threw 37 touchdowns for 4,134 yards, 353 completions, and 477 pass attempts, leading to a 74% completion percentage. Touchdowns aside, all were career highs. He finished as the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm winner and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
PSFN’s most recent NFL mock draft experimented with the notion of the Giants and Browns passing on a quarterback in Round 1 but still found Sanders’s landing spot with the Browns just one round later.
PSFN’s Reese Decker writes, “Mock drafts are valuable tools for testing how different scenarios could impact the board. In this one, we’re operating under the assumption that both Cleveland and New York pass on quarterbacks early and that Aaron Rodgers could be leading a win-now Pittsburgh team in 2025.”
It is worth noting that Adam Schefter pointed out a few days ago on his podcast that the Steelers might also be interested in Shedeur Sanders. Should Aaron Rodgers lead the charge in Pittsburgh, time would be limited, and what better way to prepare the future quarterback than by learning under the accomplished Rodgers?
This selection would also propel Sanders back into the Round 1 conversation if the Steelers go this way, should the Giants and Browns pass, which would have to be considered a risk.
If not the Steelers, as stated before, the NFL, particularly on draft night, can be full of surprises, and a darkhorse team could slide down to make a trade should the Giants or Browns not select Sanders. Being selected in the first round would also mean a fifth-year option on the NFL-bound Sanders, a measuring stick for most franchises and their early-round rookies to prove themselves within their first four seasons.
Cleveland or New York? Tennessee, Pittsburgh, a surprise? Round 1 or Round 2? The questions end in a few weeks for Shedeur Sanders and where he will begin his NFL career on April 24, or perhaps, April 25 in Green Bay, WI.