Shedeur Sanders was the biggest name — and mystery — entering Day 2 of the NFL Draft on Friday. And two rounds, 70 picks and more than four hours later, the former Colorado quarterback was still waiting for his call in one of the steepest high-profile draft slides in recent history.
Once widely projected as a first-round pick, Sanders will enter the draft’s final day still available. Once considered a contender to be the first quarterback drafted, he will be — at best — the sixth quarterback selected when Day 3 begins with the fourth round at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday in Green Bay, Wis.
On Thursday, Sanders slid past two quarterbacks in the first round in Miami’s Cam Ward (No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans) and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart (No. 25 to the New York Giants). On Friday, teams that looked like potential landing spots either passed over Sanders or went a different direction at quarterback.
Louisville’s Tyler Shough was the first quarterback off the board Friday night, selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 40th pick. With the 92nd pick, the Seattle Seahawks took Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and with the 94th pick, the Cleveland Browns selected Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.
The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers both have needs at quarterback, but both passed on him multiple times (the Browns with four picks and the Steelers with five). As the third round entered its final picks, Sanders posted on X, “Thank you GOD for EVERYTHING.”
Sanders’ status became less clear as the draft approached, but a fall from the top 102 picks turned this slide into a free fall. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler expected Sanders to be a “wild card” and dropped Sanders from the No. 21 pick in his post-combine mock draft to out of the first round by his final mock.
There’s no singular reason behind the ambiguity of Sanders’ status, but his draft slide has garnered plenty of attention, with the situation even prompting a mention from President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account Friday (“He should be ‘picked’ IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN,” Trump wrote).
Sanders opted against competing in the Shrine Bowl and participating in drills at the combine. He throws an accurate deep ball, as he showcased at Colorado’s pro day, but he also showed some wobbly throws on shorter routes, and league evaluators described his arm strength as good, but not great. There were also questions about Sanders’ ability to grow and carry a locker room for teams looking for a franchise player.
The 23-year-old Sanders started all four of his collegiate seasons — two at Jackson State and two at Colorado. He totaled 134 touchdowns and 14,347 yards, including a career-high 4,134 yards for a revitalized Buffaloes team last season. Colorado retired his jersey, along with teammate Travis Hunter’s, at the spring game this month.
Sanders responded to his Thursday night slide in a video posted by his father, Colorado coach and former NFL defensive back Deion Sanders, on Instagram.
“We didn’t expect this of course but I feel like with God anything is possible, everything is possible,” Shedeur said from his watch party in Canton, Texas. “Tomorrow’s the day. We’re going to be happy regardless. Legendary.”
Now, he waits for another tomorrow.
Follow The Athletic‘s live coverage of Rounds 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft.
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
