GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Shedeur Sanders is still waiting for a call on the NFL draft's final day, a shocking turn of events for a quarterback with arguably the highest profile in this class.
The uncertainty surrounding the Colorado star and son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is the dominant story in this draft. Generally regarded as one of the top two quarterback prospects in this class, Sanders didn’t get taken in the first round Thursday. Nor was he chosen in the second and third rounds Friday.
Sanders remained optimistic Saturday while providing an update on social media.
“Another day another opportunity to get a chance to play the game I love,” he said in an X post Saturday morning. “Thank you GOD #LEGENDARY.”
Many of the teams with obvious quarterback needs already have drafted someone else at that position, making Sanders’ situation even more of a mystery as the draft wraps up Saturday with the final four rounds. This day typically appeals more to the true draft connoisseurs, as the names of the available prospects get less familiar and much of the television coverage focuses on picks that already were made in earlier rounds.
- Hear reaction to Sanders' slide from Denver7 Sports' Nick Rothschild in the video player below:
Not this time, when someone with Sanders’ star power remains available.
The history of the draft includes plenty of stories of quarterbacks waiting much longer than expected to get drafted. Sometimes it ultimately worked out just fine for them.
Dan Marino was the sixth quarterback taken in the famous 1983 draft class and went 27th overall to Miami, where he would spend his entire Hall of Fame career. Aaron Rodgers was supposed to go among the first few picks in 2005 but went 24th to Green Bay, where he went on to win four MVP awards. More recently, Will Levis was considered a near-certain first-round pick in 2023 but slipped into the second round before Tennessee took him at No. 33 overall.
But it’s hard to come up with a fall as steep as this one.
Sanders was one of the most recognizable names in college football the last couple of years while teaming up with 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter – taken second overall by Jacksonville – and playing for his father.
He finished eighth in the Heisman balloting last season while throwing for a school-record 4,134 yards and helping Colorado go 9-4. The Buffaloes had gone 4-8 in Sanders’ first season there in 2023 after he spent two years playing for his dad at Jackson State.
Most forecasts heading into the draft had Sanders getting taken second among quarterbacks, behind only Miami’s Cam Ward, who went to the Tennessee Titans with the first overall pick.
That’s now how it’s turned out.
The New York Giants traded up to get the 25th pick on Thursday but opted for Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart. Three other quarterbacks went Friday. New Orleans selected Louisville’s Tyler Shough in the second round. Seattle chose Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Cleveland took Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
One criticism of Sanders was the fact that he was sacked 94 times the last two seasons at Colorado. Concerns also arose about his arm strength. There also were worries about how he would adapt to playing for someone other than his father. Now that Sanders is slipping into the middle rounds, teams might shy away from picking him up because of the potential distractions that come with adding someone who could generate so much attention and publicity as a backup.
There are still some teams out there that could use a quarterback.
Pittsburgh’s only quarterbacks are Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson following the offseason departures of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Sanders visited the Steelers’ facility before the draft.
Las Vegas has acquired 34-year-old Geno Smith but could use a long-term solution at the position.
And at this point in the draft, some team that already has an established quarterback in his prime simply might consider Sanders a good value and asset for the future.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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