Heading into the first night of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, there was an expectation that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders could slide out of the top 10 or even fall into the 20s, but even those who predicted Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart to be the second quarterback taken in Round 1 had to be surprised when Sanders was still on the board after all 32 selections.
As the pre-draft betting odds shifted, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the favorites to draft Sanders with pick No. 21, but instead, the Steelers opted for Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon. Even the quarterback-needy New York Giants, who passed on Sanders in favor of Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter at No. 3 overall, traded back into the first round at No. 25 and grabbed Dart instead of the Colorado QB.
While the Jacksonville Jaguars made a huge draft-night splash, trading up for two-way superstar, Heisman Trophy winner, and fellow Buffalo, Travis Hunter, it was a tough night for the Sanders family back in Texas. Still, Sanders tried his best to take the setback in stride, delivering a speech he didn’t appear prepared to give when the night began with the Tennessee Titans taking another QB, Miami’s Cam Ward, with the first-overall selection.
Shedeur Sanders keeping a positive attitude heading into day 2 of the #NFLDraft via @deionsanders IG pic.twitter.com/pXWnT2wi2k
— Desmond Purnell (@DesmondPurnell) April 25, 2025
Shedeur Sanders speaks after slipping out of the first round
The video was originally posted by Deion Sanders Jr. on Coach Prime’s Instagram account moments after the first round came to an end. Sanders had the draft hat of every NFL team on the wall behind him, and he almost certainly expected to be addressing the people gathered at his draft party with one of those hats on and a smile on his face. The good news is that he’ll likely get to put one on very early on Friday night.
The Cleveland Browns were rumored to have interest in Shedeur early in the draft process before they ultimately traded out of the No. 2 pick and selected Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5 overall. If head coach Kevin Stefanski and the perpetually QB-needy franchise in Cleveland are still interested, they hold two of the first four picks of the second round after adding draft capital in the trade with Jacksonville.
It seemed as though Cleveland was amassing assets to potentially move back into the first round, but either Sanders fell right into their laps, or the Browns are punting on the quarterback position with Deshaun Watson’s albatross of a contract still weighing down their roster.
Whenever he finally comes off the board on Day 2, well, Sanders said it, “we’re going to be happy regardless.”