There has never been a slide of this magnitude such as this one in NFL History. The closest example that can be remembered of this is Aaron Rodgers in 2005 falling down to the Packers at pick 24. Rodgers was rumored to be selected first overall by the 49ers, and shockingly fell all the way down to 24. This would only scratch the surface of what took place during the 2025 NFL draft, when quarterback Shedeur Sanders went from being a projected top five pick to being picked 144th overall by the Cleveland Browns.

In past years, QB prospects have had question marks present themselves when discussing their value. Many franchises claimed that Sanders wasn’t a leader and questioned his character, much like how they did the same to Johnny Manziel. This and other concerns about his NFL readiness made many general managers nervous about taking him. Manziel shockingly fell to pick 22, but he was still taken in the first round. General managers also talked about his physicality as a limitation of his success. For reference, Kyler Murray was taken first overall and is listed at 5”10 and 207 pounds.

There are several examples of similar concerns to Sanders in NFL history, yet this is the only example where we see those concerns lead to this dramatic drop-off. This drop-off can also be explained mainly by the NFL being a “copycat league.” On numerous occasions, there have been NFL teams emulating each other in terms of strategy, personnel and even coaching philosophies and this is a prime example of that. One team passes on Sanders and the rest all begin following suit. 

Another listed concern about Sanders is that the reason he is even being talked about is his father Deion Sanders. Although it is another sport, just look at the Bronny James situation. Even though James was a below-average college player, he was still taken in the NBA draft even though there were numerous concerns about him. That was a man purely taken because of his father’s success. But, Sanders was a Heisman Trophy candidate in each of the last two seasons at Colorado and Jackson State, where he broke numerous school records. At Colorado, he set records for single-season passing yards, completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio, and single-game passing yards, among others. He also broke records at Jackson State, including single-season touchdown passes and completions. Sanders was anything but average in his college career and yet this fall in the draft still inexplicably occurred. 

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