Plenty of playmakers are still available for teams to select on Saturday as the NFL draft enters its final four rounds, with Shedeur Sanders being the biggest surprise among them.
The highly anticipated quarterback has been overlooked for over 48 hours, despite being widely expected to be picked much earlier. His slide continues to astonish, as Sanders has now gone through 102 picks without hearing his name called.
Before Day 2 began on Friday, Sanders’ situation had already drawn attention from the White House. Former President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform, criticizing teams for not selecting Sanders on Day 1, suggesting that he should be picked in Round 2.
But NFL teams proceeded to select 70 more players, leaving Sanders still waiting for his phone to ring.
Sanders, along with Miami’s Cam Ward, was regarded as one of the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft. Some analysts even ranked Sanders higher than Ward, who was selected by the Tennessee Titans as the first overall pick on Thursday night.
Sanders has now fallen behind four other quarterbacks. The Giants made a surprising pick in the first round by selecting Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss. In Round 2, the Saints took Louisville’s Tyler Shough, who began his college career at Oregon, and will turn 26 in September. Two more quarterbacks were picked in Round 3: Alabama’s Jalen Milroe by the Seahawks and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel by the Browns.
At this point, Sanders is likely to be the sixth quarterback drafted, and he won’t even be the first Sanders selected in the draft. South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders (no relation) was picked 41st overall by Buffalo in Round 2.
One of the reasons often cited for Sanders’ slide is his height—standing at 6-foot-1, which is considered short by today’s quarterback standards. However, Gabriel is even shorter at 5-11 and lighter by 15 pounds. Sanders has a strong arm and quick decision-making skills but took a combined 94 sacks over his two seasons at Colorado.
The Denver Broncos, who are not in need of a quarterback after selecting one last year, also expressed surprise over Sanders’ slide. Broncos coach Sean Payton noted that Sanders will have a chip on his shoulder and should be considered a serious competitor in the NFL.
Sanders remains the highest-ranked player still available, according to analysts like NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah and ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. Jeremiah ranked Sanders as the 20th overall prospect, while Legwold listed him at 32nd in his top 100 college prospects.
Despite his nearly 72% completion rate over two seasons at Colorado—a career record for FBS quarterbacks—Legwold pointed out that Sanders’ size and slower release contributed to the high number of sacks he took.
Other notable prospects still available include Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, who scored a school-record 22 touchdowns last season, and Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo, who rushed for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns. Also available in Round 4 are LSU guard Miles Frazier, Ohio State edge rusher Jack Sawyer, and Colorado State wide receiver Tory Horton.
