As the 2025 NFL Draft creeps closer, Shedeur Sanders is once again in the spotlight—but not in the way Colorado fans might’ve hoped.
Despite being one of the most talked-about quarterbacks in college football over the past year, not everyone in NFL circles is buying the hype. In fact, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, some executives are pretty skeptical about where Sanders truly stands among this year’s draft class.
Fowler shared on SportsCenter that while teams like the Browns and Giants have Sanders on their radar, there’s hesitation across the board. He reached out to several NFL personnel insiders to gauge where teams think Sanders fits in the draft pecking order. The response? “Four of those people said no” when asked if Sanders was a first-round talent.
Let’s be honest: the 2025 quarterback class isn’t exactly stacked. And that might be part of the problem. Some execs reportedly feel like Sanders' name is being floated higher on draft boards than it should be—possibly due more to the buzz around his last name than his tape. After all, when your dad is Deion Sanders, expectations (and scrutiny) are going to be dialed way up.
There are teams, like the Raiders and Saints, who could see value in drafting Sanders in the middle or back end of the first round—especially if they’re looking for a developmental QB to sit behind a veteran for a couple of seasons. But there’s no clear consensus that he’s a franchise-changing guy on Day One.
That being said, it's telling that Fowler mentioned the Browns (No. 2 overall) and Giants (No. 3 overall) are seriously considering Sanders. That tells us that while there may be some NFL executives who don't believe his value is that high, it's likely not going to matter before he's still most likely not going to be passed up by the Giants — if he even falls that far.
Is he a top-five guy? Maybe. A first-round lock? Not according to several NFL insiders, but we'd still be surprised to see Sanders fall too far down the draft boards.