Shedeur Sanders has shown strong interest in joining the Las Vegas Raiders this past season. They hold the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the big market seems to suit his persona. However, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reports that the Raiders won’t feel pressured to draft a quarterback now that Geno Smith is in the room. This has led to the interesting possibility of a draft-day slide for the Colorado star.
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When the college season ended, many believed Shedeur was the outright number one prospect. The accuracy and poise he displayed with the Buffaloes looked next-level, and he could help a team in need of a quarterback. But, ever since the scouting process began in January, doubts have started to surface.
Now it’s Cam Ward who’s projected to be the number one selection. Furthermore, Abdul Carter has inserted himself as a must-draft top-three prospect. And Shedeur’s teammate, Travis Hunter, has also emerged as a can’t-miss top-three pick. It’s left pundits wondering—if none of the quarterback-needy teams in the top three take Shedeur, who will?
Enter the Raiders, who hold the sixth pick in the draft. They could very well use the selection on Shedeur. He fits the team’s mold and wouldn’t be expected to start immediately. Las Vegas just hired Pete Carroll and traded for Geno Smith at quarterback, so Shedeur would get a season of learning from two veterans under his belt.
But Tom Pelissero doesn’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that the Raiders will select Shedeur if he’s still on the board at six. In fact, he believes the team might not feel any pressure to pick him.
“The entire Geno Smith situation is really unique,” Pelissero pointed out. “He goes to the Raiders now, back with Pete Carroll. But essentially gets the same dollar figure (that Seattle offered him, $40 million in the first year). It’s not a contract that in any way precludes you from drafting a quarterback. It does, however, give the Raiders optionality because they don’t feel the pressure to take a quarterback.”
It’s a good thing for Pelissero to point out. And it’s probably why most NFL mock drafts have the Raiders selecting running back Ashton Jeanty rather than Shedeur. Geno is under contract for a $31 million cap hit this season. The Raiders will probably want to make the most of him.
But this doesn’t mean Vegas won’t take Shedeur if he’s still available at six. It would be smart for them to plan for the future, just like the Packers did with Jordan Love and the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes. There’s no guarantee Geno will be good this season or that he will be back in 2026.
Furthermore, Pelissero began to wonder whether we could be gearing up for a draft-day slide, as there’s a chance Sin City doesn’t become his home.
“You start to wonder, is this going to be one of those classic slides that we talk[ed] about in past years? If we go down the list of threats to take one in round one, you have the Raiders at six, the Saints at nine, the Steelers at 21, and the Rams at 26. Those are really the only teams that I would foresee taking [a quarterback] in the first round.”
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We’ll just have to wait and see if an unexpected slide like this happens. But at this point, anything is on the table for Shedeur. Scouts and media have picked him apart to the point where it’s hard to tell what’s noise and what’s legitimate analysis.
Not only that, but no team seems to be curating their entire draft around selecting Shedeur like many thought they would. He’s now become a prospect who could hold value purely based on how far he falls. Because, as Pelissero outlined, QB-needy teams are few and far between outside of the top three picks.
