The 2025 NFL Draft was supposed to be Shedeur Sanders’ moment. A Heisman-caliber season at Colorado, over 4,000 passing yards, a proven leadership track record and the pedigree of being Deion Sanders’ son all pointed to an early Day 1 or, at max, a Day 2 selection. But the reality was different. As the rounds ticked by, and Sanders’ name remained uncalled, confusion set in.
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Eventually, the Browns snapped him up in the fifth round as their 144th overall pick. Regardless, this draft day slide remained shocking, not just for analysts and fans, but for his closest teammates as well.
One among them is Jimmy Horn Jr., the dynamic former Colorado wide receiver who now suits up for the Carolina Panthers. Horn, who played two seasons under Coach Prime with Shedeur Sanders as his quarterback, admitted the draft slide was a shock to him, too.
Speaking on Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Horn Jr. was asked about what he felt while watching his quarterback fall all the way to the depths of the NFL Draft, not reserved for the crème de la crème.
“Your teammate Shedeur… had a phenomenal two seasons at the University of Colorado. But you watched him slide — first round, second, third, fourth, and then the fifth. At any point during that, did you reach out?” the Broncos legend asked.
The Panthers’ rookie admitted that he didn’t reach out to his teammate in those three days, but he provided a raw and real insight into his emotions.
“Uh, not that I remember,” he said. “But like, I was watching it with my peoples, and we just sittin’ there watching it like, ‘Damn. Damn.’ That’s all we were saying. Damn. That was crazy.”
Despite the disbelief, Horn wasn’t disheartened by Shedeur’s setback. Instead, he expressed trust in a bigger plan at play. “It’s all right, though,” he added. “Everything happened for a reason. God got a plan for each person.”
His calm acceptance echoes what many felt about the Browns’ rookie: the fall may have been unexpected, but it doesn’t define the destination. Even draft experts were blindsided. Analysts like Dane Brugler and Todd McShay had projected Sanders comfortably inside the top 40.
Some executives even pegged him as a late first-rounder. Yet when the Cleveland Browns selected him 144th overall, after already drafting Dillon Gabriel, the storyline shifted from celebration to confusion.
But Horn’s measured reaction, much like his composed play on the field, indicated that he understood the slide was less of a disrespect and more of a redirection.
After all, if there’s anyone who knows what Shedeur Sanders can still become, it’s the guy who caught passes from him every day in Boulder.
