Shedeur Sanders has seen his draft stock rise and fall perhaps more than any other major prospect in recent memory. At one point, he was considered a shoo-in to be selected No. 1 overall at the 2025 NFL Draft in April, recent mock drafts have him going anywhere from No. 2 to out of the first round altogether.
Advertisement
Todd McShay argued that Sanders is very much in play for the Cleveland Browns at No. 2, but the most common view is that either the New York Giants or New York Jets claim his services at No. 3 or No. 7, respectively. USA TODAY’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz went the other way, however. While he still has the Jets taking Sanders, he has them trading their backup for Shedeur at No. 26 after taking Missouri OT Armand Membou at No. 7.
If the Jets were able to land their QB and LT of the future in a single round of the draft, it would be the coup of all draft coups. However, Sanders dropping to 26 seems unlikely. Some NFL pundits had some stronger words than “unlikely” for what Skip Bayless and others have deemed a “smear campaign” against Shedeur by the rest of the NFL media.
“The other day I read two stories in USA TODAY that knocked me off my chair,” Skip said. “The first was a mock draft in which Shedeur Sanders falls all the way to [26th] at which point, according to this mock, the Jets trade up to take Shedeur, which would be the steal of the century for the Jets.”
It was USA TODAY’s Mike Freeman who first referred to the treatment of Sanders as a “smear campaign”, referencing fellow NFL journalist Josina Anderson. Anderson said that the public criticism of Shedeur following his team meetings at the Combine was unwarranted. He was seemingly being punished for his self-confidence, which is a prerequisite for a professional athlete.
But, it wouldn’t be a Skip Bayless story without a mention of his beloved Dallas Cowboys, right? Bayless was flabbergasted by how far Shedeur dropped in that mock draft. But, he was not only surprised by the drop, he was somehow more surprised that his Cowboys didn’t take Sanders at No. 12 in this hypothetical scenario. Despite the fact that they’re paying Dak Prescott $60 million a year. Skip doesn’t care about contracts though.
“Of course, my first thought was, ‘Wait a second, you’re saying Shedeur Sanders will be there for my Cowboys at 12? And my Cowboys will pass? Because we’re stuck with Dak?’ Listen, Shedeur will be so much better than Dak Prescott. More dynamic leader, more clutch, more Deion-inspired pedigree running through his veins. Just better!”
Quarterback is arguably the most important position in team sports. So, having a good one is the most important part of team-building. We saw a dearth of QBs drafted in 2022, but we think this class, while weak compared to 2024, is still pretty strong, and Sanders is a reason for that. We’re with Skip on this one: if Shedeur Sanders drops that far, we’d be shocked. And if he did, it would be highly unlikely that the QB-less Pittsburgh Steelers don’t pounce at No. 21.
