The mystery behind top prospect Shedeur Sanders's NFL draft free fall

Morgan Campbell · for CBC Sports

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 12:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

The winners successful the NFL draught play Shedeur Sanders lived done this past weekend?

Broadcast rights holders, clearly.

Most years, each but the hardest of the hardcore NFL information nerds person tuned retired by time three. This spring, we each kept way heavy into Saturday afternoon, funny to spot conscionable however acold Sanders, an all-conference backmost and, according to immoderate draught experts, a projected first-round selection, would fall. That the Cleveland Browns waited until the 5th circular to prime him was large quality for ESPN, TSN, and anyone other successful the concern of keeping viewers glued to the draft.

And the losers?

Sanders, obviously. He expected to onshore connected a squad with a program for him, but alternatively he'll spell to Cleveland, location to 5 quarterbacks, nary clear-cut starter, and a constricted fig of grooming campy reps.

Sanders' cause loses out, too. If you're moving for a percent of your client's contract, past you besides instrumentality a wage chopped erstwhile cipher calls until time three.

And pity the mediocre NFL Network, which gladly accepted the ratings bump that came with the drawn-out Sanders draught drama, but volition suffer retired connected the world TV front. An upcoming play of Undrafted, featuring the Sanders brothers, would person been, to crib Shedeur's catchphrase, Legendary. Now they'll person to settee for an off-season with large member Shilo, who signed a free-agent woody with Tampa Bay.

The remainder of america are near to puzzle implicit what created the spread betwixt Sanders's first-round expectations and his fifth-round reality. 

Did the mock drafts get it wrong?

Possibly. They're educated guesses, not legally binding documents.

Did NFL beforehand offices messiness up?

Also plausible. Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick. Sometimes the experts can't admit an all-pro until helium becomes one.

Collusion? Racism?

Can't discount either erstwhile discussing Black quarterbacks. Sanders topped his league successful passing yards (4,134) and touchdowns (37), and led the federation successful completion percent (74.0). The numbers accidental headliner. His draught slot says afterthought. The disconnect could awesome thing sinister.

Impressive assemblage numbers

But if you watched him blossom into a assemblage shot prima alongside his celebrated father, Deion, the NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado's caput coach, past you whitethorn besides person noted their unfastened disdain for the draught process, and their tendency to power his NFL destination. 

It works if you person 4.2 velocity similar Deion, oregon the enactment to play pro shot — besides similar Deion (who played 9 seasons successful MLB alongside his shot career.) But Shedeur entered draught play with awesome assemblage numbers, and questions astir his first-round suitability that helium ne'er rather answered. He stake connected himself anyhow and the wager, similar astir gambles, backfired.

Even Team Sanders seemed to consciousness aboriginal connected that Shedeur would get unopen retired of circular one. It would explicate spending draught play astatine location alternatively of connected tract successful Green Bay. We've each seen the awkward greenish country footage of the imaginable who doesn't get selected. None of america would privation to prima successful it, truthful we can't blasted Sanders for eliminating that possibility.

But successful existent time, watching NFL teams walk implicit an accomplished Black quarterback, it was hard to disregard the story's radical dimensions.

"No. 1, helium didn't codification switch," wrote all-purpose sports-and-race commentator Emmanuel Acho connected Twitter. "What bash I mean, 'he didn't codification switch,' Shedeur Sanders did not alteration his individuality oregon however helium comes disconnected for the involvement of the decision-makers."

To Acho's point, there's a Russell Wilson who talks conscionable similar your favourite rapper, and a Russell Wilson who sounds similar the lone spices helium cooks with are brackish and pepper. In between, determination are dozens of Russell Wilsons, depending connected his assemblage and the message.

From there, it's casual to posit that radical shape-shifting is simply a occupation request for Black quarterbacks, that Sanders was excessively Black for the job, and that NFL teams punished him for it. Makes consciousness until you deliberation it through.

There is, aft all, nary alternate mentation of Lamar Jackson that scrubs his code of immoderate vestige of African American Vernacular English erstwhile helium addresses  the media. And there's nary iteration of Jalen Hurts that makes clip to sojourn a president that derides the Smithsonian Museum of African American History arsenic "divisive." If you're arguing that Shedeur Sanders' blackness presents a unsocial menace to the NFL's tenuous radical harmony, conscionable confess that you haven't been paying attention.

The information is we don't cognize Sanders' authorities — connected race, tariffs, voting rights, oregon immoderate different polarizing issue.

But we cognize however his dad, who has besides been his de facto agent, felt astir a draught process that could lucifer Shedeur with a dysfunctional team.

"There's definite cities that ain't gonna happen," Deion told the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast successful 2024. "It's gonna beryllium an Eli."

Eli, of course, refers to Eli Manning, member of Peyton and lad of Archie, who was drafted by the Chargers successful 2004. His high-profile refusal to motion a declaration prompted a commercialized to the New York Giants.

You tin empathize with Team Sanders for wanting to workout immoderate agency. North American pro sports are the lone vocation tract that rewards high-achieving assemblage students with arranged marriages to underperforming, often mismanaged companies. How overmuch amended would Trevor Lawrence beryllium if the NFL draught hadn't saddled him with Urban Meyer?

We'll ne'er know.

But successfully flexing connected the NFL draught process lone works if teams really privation you that badly. 

Uncertainty implicit limb strength

Deion had his blinding footspeed and that declaration with the Yankees. His full pre-draft valuation consisted of a single, sizzling-fast 40-yard dash astatine the combine. In his telling, helium ran done the decorativeness enactment and consecutive into a waiting limo. 

The Chargers drafted Manning contempt his publically stated wishes against it, past had to commercialized him erstwhile helium refused to alteration his mind. Either that oregon squander a first-round draught pick.

Shedeur, for his part, entered this outpouring battling uncertainty implicit his limb strength. He's a Drew Brees-style distributor, and a savvy playmaker, but these days top-of-the draught NFL teams often question Josh Allen-style crippled breakers. Teams besides weren't definite astir his penchant for taking sacks — an NCAA-high 94 times successful 2 seasons astatine Colorado. The fig mightiness bespeak a anemic violative line, oregon a QB's toughness. But it mightiness besides hint astatine a dilatory processing speed. Sanders could person cleared up those concerns successful meetings with prospective employers but instead, according to aggregate reports, helium tanked a fig of pre-draft interviews. 

Did helium bash it intentionally to scare distant clubs helium didn't like?

That's possible, too.

It's a powerfulness play if you cognize respective teams truly privation you.

And crap sprout if you lone deliberation they do.