Throughout the entire pre-draft process, Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders was thought to be a top-two quarterback in the class with a great chance to go in the first round or maybe even top-10.
Following an unprecedented slide that ended with him heading to Cleveland with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round, many are wondering what exactly happened in the pre-draft process to cause such a drastic fall.
Because of his lack of defining physical traits, SI.com’s Albert Breer believes he fell out of the first or second round when a team didn’t deem him a perfect fit. He thinks the slide continued because teams don’t want a developmental backup to create distractions and cited examples with Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick.
Breer brought up some pre-draft interview moments, where Sanders didn’t take the blame for a rough interception of his that a team wanted him to break down, or where he missed planted mistakes in an install to test the quarterback. Overall, teams either disliked what they saw during the process or didn’t get enough opportunities to get to know and evaluate Sanders, as he sat out events like the Combine and all-star practices, where teams have more chances to do so.
The Ringer’s Todd McShay went into greater detail on Sanders’ visit with the Giants, reiterating how he wasn’t prepared for the install package HC Brian Daboll provided.
“Shedeur didn’t have a great interview with Brian Daboll in a private visit,” McShay said. “An install package came in. Preparation wasn’t there for it. [He] got called out on it. Didn’t like that. Brian didn’t appreciate him not liking it.”
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini mentions that heading into the week of the Combine, the Giants had Sanders No. 1 on their board, but things changed after that.
Sanders, 22, was a two-year starter at Jackson State before transferring to Colorado before the 2023 season.
NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah has compared him to QB Geno Smith.
In two years at Colorado, Sanders completed 71.8 percent of his pass attempts for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in 24 career games, adding eight more scores on the ground.
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