At the beginning of the NFL offseason, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was going as early as No. 3 overall in some NFL mock drafts. But in the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., Sanders was off the board at No. 7.
While appearing on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd on Feb. 26, SI’s Albert Breer explained why Sanders is seemingly falling on draft boards.
Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders Falling in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Kiper didn’t dive into why he slotted Sanders outside the top five in his latest mock draft on Feb. 25. But Breer explained the concerns surrounding the Colorado quarterback heading into the NFL Draft.
“I think the issue with Shedeur, and this is going to be a difficult thing for himself to address over the next 6-7 weeks. Are you special in any one area? Do you have a superpower trait? Or, are you an average athlete with an average arm in an NFL context? And I think that’s the way a lot of teams look at him,” Breer told Cowherd.
“He’s not a great athlete. He doesn’t have a big arm. Where is the super power that’s going to make you want to take him in the top 5?”
Breer argued that the lack of a “superpower” could be particularly concerning to an AFC team drafting in the top five. The Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns will ultimately have to beat a “gauntlet” of quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow, to make the Super Bowl.
Breer also mentioned C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix and Drake Maye as other AFC signal callers on the cusp of true stardom.
“If you draft Sheueder Sanders in the top 5 or top 10 picks, could he get up and running pretty fast? I think he probably could. [But] five years from now, are you going to be comfortable giving him $55, $60, $65 million a year?” Breer asked.
"Where’s the superpower that will have you take Shedeur Top 5? Is he able to chase a Mahomes, Josh Allen or Lamar?"@AlbertBreer addresses the reason Shedeur Sanders's draft stock is dropping: pic.twitter.com/Hn1ZMD9bUB
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 26, 2025
Breer Compares Sanders to Mac Jones
There’s a lot that can be said for a top 10 prospec, especially behind center, that comes into the NFL with little risk. Breer appeared to implied that’s the case with Sanders.
But again, it’s his upside that’s concerning. During his Feb. 26 appearance on The Herd, Breer compared Sanders to former New England Patriots first-round pick Mac Jones.
“He can come in and stabilize a position for a team. Is he going to get a second contract? Or, are you going to be left in Year 3 or Year 4 wanting for more? And saying to yourself, is this it? Is this all we’re going to get?” Breer said.
“It’s sort of the Mac Jones thing. Mac Jones was great as a rookie. They were able to get him out there and get him up and running and playing at a high level pretty fast. And then, it was sort of like, that was it with him. That’s the biggest question with Sheueder. And that’s why I think some teams as Sheueder close to Jaxson Dart than maybe he is to Cam Ward.”
According to Breer, the danger with picking Sanders isn’t that he won’t become a starter. It’s that he will never be able to help his team finish any better than a sixth or seventh in the AFC and compete for Super Bowl title.
In PFSN’s latest NFL mock draft Owain Jones projected Sanders to go sixth overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Jones predicted Cam Ward to land with the New York Giants at No. 3.
“Shedeur Sanders has a pro-ready skill set but doesn’t offer the sky-high ceiling that others do,” Jones wrote. “The steady Colorado passer has great accuracy, processing, and pace control to be a game manager in the NFL.”