For months, Shedeur Sanders was seen as a lock for the top 10 of the 2025 NFL Draft. But since the college football season ended, he has started sliding down draft boards. Then, some anonymous coach’s comments from the NFL Scouting Combine exacerbated his fall. Now, he’s not even seen as a sure-fire first-round selection.
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Perhaps this is an overreaction. After all, most analysts still project Sanders to be picked in the top 10. But with Sanders’ overall stock – particularly in prospect rankings – trending the wrong way, it’s entirely possible he will slip into the late teens or early 20s.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein’s latest mock draft supports this assertion. While colleagues Charles Davis, Daniel Jeremiah, and Bucky Brooks have Sanders going No. 1, No. 3, and No. 3 overall, respectively, Zierlein has him nearly sliding into the second round.
Zierlein imagines the Cleveland Browns will trade up to the 29th pick to end Sanders’ fall. To him, Sanders’ slippage stems from the lack of “special qualities in terms of arm talent.” He also pointed out that, despite conventional wisdom, there are years where quarterbacks have not floated up the board.
“The Kenny Pickett draft, just a couple years ago, [there] was just one quarterback in the first round… this will happen from time to time. [In] 2013… EJ Manuel [went] in the first round and Geno Smith fell out… if you don’t put Shedeur in the first seven picks, then there is a slide that is going to happen. And that typically happens with any [QB]… past a certain line of demarcation,” Lance Zierlein explained.
The last line is the key to Zierlein’s projection. If the New York Jets pass on Sanders at No. 7, the New Orleans Saints could pounce at No. 9. But after that, no team has QB as a major need until the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21. Unless another team trades into the No. 10-20 range, it’s highly unlikely Sanders will go in one of those slots.
Who is Shedeur Sanders’ draft comp?
As Zierlein mentioned, Sanders isn’t going to wow anybody with physical traits. He’s a true pocket passer who’s more reliant on accuracy and ball placement than arm strength. During draft season, his strengths aren’t ones that attract eyeballs and make scouts drool. This, in part, is why Cam Ward has separated himself from Sanders atop the quarterback prospect rankings in recent months.
That said, Sanders’ strengths do translate to the NFL. Mel Kiper Jr. continues to advocate for Sanders as QB1 of the class over Ward because of them. Zierlein believes those abilities could allow Sanders to have a quality career. He just doesn’t see him turning into a Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson type of superstar.
“[Shedeur Sanders] throws with good anticipation. [He] has really good poise in the pocket [and] really good confidence in the pocket… what he is, to me, is a really good game manager. A guy who can be like Jared Goff. I think that could be his ceiling,” Zierlein concluded.
Bucky Brooks echoed the general sentiment around Sanders and Ward, saying Ward has the “higher ceiling” and Sanders “may have the higher floor.” He credited Zierlein for his comps, which also included Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. To Brooks, Sanders resides “somewhere between” Goff and Smith.
Neither Goff nor Smith has won the Super Bowl. They’re also not among the league’s most elite signal-callers. But if the NFL’s QB-needy franchises could have Goff or Smith on a rookie contract, they’d take them in a heartbeat.
As a first-round pick, Sanders would offer that level of play for the next five years. Passing on such quality production because of unfounded rumors of arrogance and/or his last name, would be foolish. He should be a first-round pick.
