The NFL draft’s third round closed late Friday, April 25, 2025, and Shedeur Sanders, the brash, spotlight-grabbing quarterback from Colorado, still hadn’t heard his name called. A player once pegged as a potential first-rounder, Sanders’ slide through the 2025 draft has jaws dropping across the league, with scouts and fans alike scrambling to make sense of it. As the final four rounds kick off Saturday at noon, the question hangs heavy: what’s keeping teams from betting on a kid who’s got arm talent, charisma, and a knack for turning programs around?
Sanders, who dazzled at Jackson State before following his father, Deion Sanders, to Colorado, seemed like a lock for early selection. His college tape shows a gunslinger with a quick release and pinpoint accuracy, racking up 3,230 passing yards and 27 touchdowns in his final season. He’s not just a stat sheet stunner—Sanders carried Colorado to a 9-3 record in 2024, a far cry from the program’s 4-8 slog the year before. At the NFL scouting combine in February, he didn’t shy away from his swagger, telling reporters he’d already flipped two college programs and was ready to do it again in the pros. That confidence, paired with his on-field chops, had draft boards buzzing.
But the buzz fizzled fast. By the time the first round wrapped on Thursday, April 24, Sanders was still waiting. Friday’s second and third rounds came and went—nothing. Whispers started circling about his game: he holds the ball too long, some say, inviting sacks. His mobility’s limited, not ideal for today’s scamper-happy NFL. Off-field chatter didn’t help. Reports from predraft meetings hinted that some teams found his larger-than-life persona—a mix of celebrity flash and unshakeable self-belief—a bit much. One scout, speaking anonymously to a major outlet, called him “a lot to handle” for locker rooms craving low-key leadership.
The numbers don’t lie, though. Sanders’ 69.3% completion rate in 2024 ranked among the nation’s best. His 178.1 passer rating at Jackson State in 2022 still has coaches salivating. Yet, as the draft’s third day dawns, he’s in uncharted territory, a high-profile prospect staring down the possibility of going unpicked entirely. Teams’ needs aren’t helping his case. With a flurry of quarterback signings in free agency—veterans like Aaron Rodgers still floating out there—few franchises are hunting for a Day 3 signal-caller to start right away.
Saturday’s rounds, starting April 26, will be Sanders’ last shot to land on an NFL roster via the draft. If he goes undrafted, he’ll hit the free-agent market, where teams could snap him up as a developmental project. For now, the kid who vowed to change the game waits, his future as murky as the reasons behind his free fall.
Draft coverage resumes at noon ET on April 26, 2025, with rounds four through seven.