NFL Network's coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft Photo credit: NFL Network
By Sam Neumann on

No one has a good explanation for why Shedeur Sanders is still on the board entering Day 3 of the NFL Draft.

Stephen A. Smith called it “collusion” on the level of Colin Kaepernick, wondering how the Colorado quarterback could go undrafted while Jalen Milroe and Dillon Gabriel heard their names called. Over on ESPN’s broadcast, Mel Kiper Jr., who turned Round 1 into a Shedeur love fest, didn’t have an answer either. He simply said he was “disgusted” with how the Draft had played out, while Adam Schefter tried to piece together any rationale for Shedeur Sanders’ slide.

Meanwhile, NFL Network took a different approach.

As the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Tulane cornerback Caleb Ransaw at No. 88 overall — not that the Jags were in the market for a quarterback — Rich Eisen seized the moment, turning to his co-hosts and asking the same question everyone else was: why?

Daniel Jeremiah tried to offer an explanation, suggesting that many teams simply weren’t sold on the quarterback class as a whole and opted to wait until next year’s draft for a potential starter.

But he didn’t have more to give than that.

“To me, if it’s just as a player, I don’t have an answer for you,” Jeremiah said. “I can tell you that there are teams that have decided overall this quarterback class as a whole, they didn’t feel comfortable with it. They’re punting. They’re waiting ’til next year. You can make the case that they feel like starters go in the first round, there’s no reason to take a backup in the middle rounds. Just wait. If you’re going to take a backup, take a backup later. I think in the right situation, surely, as a player in a certain fit, he can be a productive starter in this league. And that’s why I graded him and ranked him where I did. Obviously, that opinion was not shared.

“I can’t speak to whether that’s they didn’t feel comfortable in wanting to coach him, or I can’t tell if they say he’s just skillset-wise, there’s not enough ceiling and upside for us to take him at the high portion of the draft. But, at this point in time, guys, we’re in the ’80s. At this point in time, the ability warrants a selection. We’re way past that time in my opinion.”

Obviously, other NFL teams didn’t feel the same way, as we reached No. 102 overall, and still no Shedeur Sanders.

“There’s a combination of factors going on here,” Joel Klatt said. “Because, you’re right, this is not on the field. If this is just about his playing ability, he’s going to be drafted by this point. So, it’s off the field. It’s personality. It’s fit with an organization. It’s a meeting that didn’t go the right way. But, one thing that I do know is: this guy can play, and someone’s going to draft him. Now, this is where it gets into a difficult question is now you’re going to draft him, and for sure a backup mode as a big story.”

And as Charles Davis pointed out, the story is already bigger than it needed to be, and drafting Shedeur Sanders as a backup in the middle rounds isn’t going to make the media circus disappear.

“I think in a lot of ways, unfortunately, for Shedeur and everyone connected to the Sanders family, it fits a little bit with what we’re seeing in this draft,” said Davis. “There are many of these selections that have come off the board where we thought other people would go before these people. ‘What? This guy went? This guy hasn’t gone yet?’ Teams are seeing players in different ways, different lights, then maybe we might be seeing them, depending on how we have them weighted and graded.

“The other part is: because of the name, the extra emphasis on ‘Why hasn’t he gone yet?’ I think back to past drafts. Sam Howell was supposed to be a possible first round draft pick coming into his last year. He ends up going in the fifth round. We didn’t come anywhere close to talking about ‘Why did Sam Howell wait until the fifth round to go?’ People see guys in different ways and different lights, and unfortunately for Shedeur Sanders, this is what the league is seeing right now. And maybe he did get caught. ‘If he’s not a starter, do I really want him as a backup?’ I’m not sure exactly what they’re telling us.”

At some point, this stopped being about talent. It stopped being about fit. Shedeur Sanders has become the defining question of this draft, not just when he’ll be picked but also why he’s still waiting. Every hour that passes without an answer only makes it harder for the league to explain itself.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann