Shedeur Sanders will have to wait to learn his NFL fate. The Colorado quarterback and son of Buffaloes coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders wasn’t taken in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, April 24, 2025. Before the most recent college football season, his father predicted he would be a top-five selection. His teammate, Heisman trophy winner Travis Hunter, was taken second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who traded up with the Cleveland Browns to draft him.
Miami’s Cam Ward, who went No. 1 overall to the Titans, was one of two quarterbacks taken in the first round. Sanders led the Buffaloes to their first bowl game in eight years alongside Hunter after following his father from Jackson State to Colorado in 2023. He was linked to quarterback-needy teams such as the Giants, Browns, and Saints, all of which drafted in the top 10. But those teams went in different directions.
The 6-foot-1 quarterback was also linked to the Dolphins, who drafted No. 13 and the Steelers, who picked 21st; both teams passed on Sanders, too. The Giants traded with the Texans for the No. 25 overall pick, but used it to select Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart instead of Sanders. By falling to the second round, Sanders’s four-year rookie contract will not include a fifth-year team option.
There is a dropoff in money, too. The 32nd overall pick signs a five-year deal for roughly $14.6 million, while the 33rd pick signs a four-year deal worth roughly $11.8 million, about a $3 million difference. Contracts continue to fall along with the draft slot.
Shedeur Sanders is still on the board following the first round of the NFL draft. The New York Giants passed on the former Colorado quarterback twice, including with the No. 3 pick Thursday night. Las Vegas (at No. 6), the New York Jets (No. 7), New Orleans (No. 9) and Pittsburgh (No. 21) also said no thanks to Sanders, and that's four teams seemingly in need of a signal caller. How far will Sanders fall now? He will definitely be available when the second round begins Friday.
There was some thought a team would trade into the bottom end of the first round and grab Sanders. But no one did. The Giants looked like they might. They sent three picks to Houston for the 25th overall selection and then chose Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart over Sanders. TV cameras showed a solemn Sanders family watching and waiting in Texas.
Concerns about Sanders’ arm strength have become an issue in recent weeks, although his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders, laughed at that notion. In 50 collegiate games, Shedeur Sanders threw for 14,347 yards, with 134 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He completed 70.1% of his passes and ran for 17 more scores.
Shedeur Sanders was seen as one of the biggest wild cards entering the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. As it turns out, he'll be a wildcard on Friday, too. Sanders, who enjoyed a prolific 2024 season at Colorado and posted an all-time FBS record with a 71.8% career completion percentage, was not picked during the draft's opening round and now waits for his fate to be decided heading into Friday night and the start of Round 2.
The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and the son of Hall of Fame cornerback and Colorado coach Deion Sanders, Shedeur was among the most debated prospects entering the draft. He also is a unique prospect in terms of his huge celebrity and personality, matched only by his immense confidence. Whether any of those variables played a role in his precipitous fall can't be known, but Sanders has long acknowledged that he isn't your garden variety prospect.
"You think I'm worried about what critics say or what people have to say," he said during the NFL scouting combine in February. "You know who my dad is? They hate on him, too." Sanders declined an invitation to attend the draft in Green Bay, opting to spend the evening in his native Texas with family and a number of guests. The night did not bring them much of anything to celebrate, however.
Earlier Thursday, Sanders posted on X, "I'm built for whatever today may bring." At several points on Thursday, it appeared his moment might come. The Cleveland Browns, in need of a quarterback and having traded down from the No. 2 overall pick, opted for Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham. The New Orleans Saints, at No. 9 and with an uncertain quarterback situation, selected Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks.
Later, anticipation built when the Pittsburgh Steelers -- who have been in protracted talks with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers but have no proven starter on their roster -- approached at No. 21. But Pittsburgh went in an entirely different direction, selecting Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. Finally, the New York Giants made a stir when they traded back into the first round, swapping picks with the Houston Texans to grab the 25th selection. But instead of picking Sanders, New York picked Mississippi's Jaxson Dart.
It was likely a frustrating series of events for Sanders, who had repeatedly expressed his view of himself as one of the draft's top prospects. At the combine he said he would change the fate of the franchise that selects him. "If that's not what you're trying to do, don't [pick] me," he said. "If you ain't trying to change the franchise or the culture, don't [pick] me. You should know history repeats itself over and over and over, and I've done it over and over. So, it should be no question."
Sanders added that he and his father "went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back to back. So, you don't think I could come to an NFL franchise and change the program again?" Sanders now is positioned to have a fate similar to some quarterbacks in the past who have surprisingly fallen out of the first round. In 2023, Will Levis -- a projected early first-round choice -- slipped to the Day 2 and was picked by the Tennessee Titans with the first pick of the second round. In 2013, Geno Smith fell out of Round 1 and was picked by the New York Jets at No. 39.
An early test case will come right away on Friday night. The Browns have the 33rd overall pick -- the first selection in the second round -- and also own the 36th overall choice, giving them two potential opportunities to grab Sanders. Beyond that, other possible landing spots include New Orleans (No. 40). The Steelers do not have a second-round pick.
