Shedeur Sanders' slide in the 2025 NFL Draft has continued into Day 3.
Rounds 2 and 3 came and went on Friday without the Colorado product selected despite several quarterback-needy teams drafting players perceived to be well-beyond Sanders' pre-draft evaluation of first-round projections.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero, who believed the QB prospect would be taken on Day 2, said Saturday that it is indeed a surprise Sanders remains available on Day 3 before going on to dissect how we got here.
"Philosophically, some teams feel like if you are drafting at the quarterback position specifically, if you think you've got a starter, you take him in Round 1," Pelissero said on NFL Network's Draft Kickoff. "If you're drafting somebody to be your backup, you don't wanna do that until Day 3."
Three QB prospects were taken on Day 2. The New Orleans Saints selected Louisville's Tyler Shough with the 40th-overall pick, seemingly ending the thought of Sanders supplementing their need with Derek Carr's future up in the air. The Seattle Seahawks decided to take on the developmental project of Alabama's Jalen Milroe at No. 92 overall, an addition which adds to a revamped QB room headed by the team's splash free-agent signing of Sam Darnold. The Cleveland Browns selection of Oregon's Dillon Gabriel two picks later was perhaps the biggest shock of the QBs taken on Day 2 considering the club's uncertain depth chart.
Pelissero detailed on NFL Network some of the reasons that could have contributed to Sanders going undrafted in the first three rounds.
"I spoke last night with one general manager who is considering taking Shedeur Sanders today," Pelissero said Saturday. "He pointed back all the way to March 2024 and something that Shedeur's father, Deion Sanders, said on a podcast talking about both Shedeur and Travis Hunter, saying that if they are drafted by a team that they don't want to go to, he's gonna step in and pull an Eli (Manning), meaning force those players to not actually go to that team and try to get them traded. Throughout the pre-draft process, Shedeur Sanders very much proceeded as if he was dictating to clubs where he was going to go rather than how the draft works, which is the other way around."
Pelissero added that Sanders' decision to not participate in some parts of the pre-draft process were considered as "opportunities missed."
The Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers remain as teams who have yet to draft a QB entering Day 3. It remains to be seen whether they will end up taking Sanders, but Pelissero added on Saturday that we're now in a realm of possibility where teams that don't need a signal-caller go ahead and take Sanders.
"Because you're in Day 3, have to start thinking about some teams that do not have obvious quarterback needs, again because GMs are looking at the board and then maybe somewhere Shedeur Sanders is the outlier right now," Pelissero said. "Think about a team like just throwing one out: the Philadelphia Eagles. They wanna be a quarterback factory, Howie Roseman likes to draft one every year. They're comfortable, they're coming off a Super Bowl win, they've got Jalen Hurts, nobody thinks the door is coming in and challenging for the job. Maybe a team like that could come out of the darkness and stop Shedeur Sanders from sliding any further down."
Sanders has been the dominant storyline of the 2025 NFL Draft over the first two days. Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who said he's been watching Sanders play for years, noted his surprise that the Colorado QB remains available.
"We sat there, I watched right behind him throwing and watching the receivers, he had an outstanding Pro Day. This thing is surprising," Payton told reporters on Friday night. "There's nothing that ever takes place during this period of time that surprises you. Last year, we had a plan B quarterback and shoot, we thought second round, and he went. I think we all were surprised and yet the talent, holy cow. I think if you're a team that needs a quarterback, and we kind of know at the start of the draft who those teams are. Again I saw him when he was in junior high, and then I saw him when he was in high school, and then I saw him when he was a sophomore in high school come practice on their way to Florida. So I've had the chance, I know [Colorado Head Coach] Deion [Sanders], I felt like I grew up watching him play. There'll be a chip on his shoulder and beware because this guy's going to play in this league. I think it's hard for any of us to explain what other people are looking for. We focus on what we're looking for and yes, I think it's surprising."
