After the Tennessee Titans selected Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, attention shifted to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders – but not in the way many expected. Despite being rated by numerous analysts as the second-best quarterback in this relatively weak class, Sanders watched as potential landing spots evaporated throughout the first round. The New York Giants bypassed him twice (at No. 3 and after trading back in at No. 25), the quarterback-needy New Orleans Saints went another direction at No. 9, and the Pittsburgh Steelers opted for a defensive tackle at No. 21. As the first round concluded, Sanders remains available heading into Day 2.
The nature of this unexpected free fall reveals a significant disconnect between public perception and how NFL teams actually viewed Sanders as a prospect.
While media projections often placed Sanders in the first round, team evaluations told a different story according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.
"Most teams didn't see him as a first-rounder," Breer posted on X. "A lot of people didn't want to hear that. But it is what it is. Doesn't mean he can't succeed. He still can."
Sanders' measurables – listed at 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds – coupled with limited athleticism became sticking points during the evaluation process. One NFC coordinator shared a mixed assessment with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero , acknowledging Sanders' accuracy while noting significant concerns.
"If somebody's open, he's going to hit it. So you don't want to discredit how accurate he is," the coordinator explained. "There's just a lack of a ton of juice in his arm. He's not incredibly athletic. He does hold on to the ball. The offense is really hard to judge what they're doing offensively and what he's being told from a read standpoint, so you can't totally kill him for that. I see him as more of a backup that, shoot, maybe he can develop into a fringe starter."
An NFC scouting director pointed to Sanders' unique circumstances playing for his Hall of Fame father at both Jacksonville State and Colorado.
"When you hear all the anecdotal stories about the person, it's not that he's a bad kid," the scouting director explained to Pelissero. "He has been so insulated. It's going to be a culture shock when he really learns how a locker room really operates and how it really works inside a building. He's had so much input on the offensive game plan and who the coach is, and everything's been catered to him. When you walk in one of these (NFL) buildings, no one's going to give a s— about that. No one cares who your dad is. You're going to have to end up fighting through some adversity."
The director specifically noted concerns about Sanders making unilateral decisions at the line of scrimmage without consequences – a luxury unavailable in NFL environments.
"The plays aren't going to be called to exactly what you want to run. Even last year with Shurmur, a lot of the mistakes he made was stuff that he just decided to call at the line of scrimmage himself, and there's no recourse of him making those decisions. Whereas, in a real locker room, you make a couple of those decisions, you get your a– ripped so bad that you never want to do it again."
Perhaps most damaging were reports about Sanders' interview performance. A longtime NFL assistant coach delivered a particularly harsh assessment to Pelissero, calling it "the worst formal interview I've ever been in in my life."
"He's so entitled," the coach said. "He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates. … But the biggest thing is, he's not that good."
Beyond the quarterback's own limitations, teams expressed reservations about the additional scrutiny that comes with drafting Deion Sanders' son. Yahoo Sports' Inside Coverage podcast, senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson explained this dynamic.
"When you talk to people about Shedeur, it doesn't go very long in the conversation where they go 'and then there's the other baggage,'" noted Robinson. "The other baggage they're talking about is honestly being afraid of Deion, afraid of, 'If we draft this guy, how often are we going to be criticized for what the scheme is? How we're bringing him along?' Every other thing. It is this whole extra element of outside chaos that I think teams are really thinking about when you look at him as a prospect."
