The first round of the NFL Draft came on Thursday night, and then the first round went away, and Shedeur Sanders failed to get drafted.
Despite an electric Thursday night filled with high-profile prospects — mainly quarterback Cam Ward taken at No. 1 and all-world athlete Travis Hunter at No. 2 — the biggest story from Green Bay, Wis., was the fact that a multitude of teams passed on Sanders — some more than once — in the first round.
After being considered a sure-fire Top 10 pick months ago, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders watched his stock drop like a boulder rolling downhill and was not expected to be a high draft pick on Thursday. That is why Sanders did not go to Wisconsin for the draft but opted to watch the proceedings with family and friends at his father’s home in Canton, Texas, about an hour east of Dallas.
A visibly stunned Sanders addressed the assemblage of loved ones after the shock of the 2025 NFL Draft transpired, and Sanders was left undrafted on opening night.
“We all didn’t expect this, of course,” Sanders said to his draft party. “I feel like with God, everything is possible. I don’t feel like this happened for no reason. All this is, of course, just fuel to the fire. Under no circumstances should this have ever happened; we all know that. Tomorrow is the day, we are going to be happy regardless.”
Shedeur Sanders stoic after Round 1
Sanders has become renowned for blocking out the noise and outside elements from contaminating his peace during games. So, it was not surprising that he exemplified stoicism in the face of a humiliating outcome Thursday night.
As USA Today noted, round two of the NFL draft commences on Friday at 7 p.m. ET with the quarterback-needy Cleveland Browns possessing two of the first four selections (No. 33 and No. 36).
Some pundits also pointed to the New Orleans Saints, who have the 40th pick, as a possible destination, as well as the Dallas Cowboys, who own pick No. 44.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers were flamed on social media because they do not have a viable quarterback this late in the offseason, a rarity in the NFL. Therefore, fans expected the Steelers front office to draft Sanders or another quarterback.
When that did not happen, fans went volcanic on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Another 9-8 season loading, f–k (Steelers head coach) Mike Tomlin,” one fan said, while another spat, “Mike Tomlin and (general manager) Omar Khan are in free fall.”
The second fan continued, saying:
- “Lowballed Justin Fields in negotiations;
- Fields signs with the Jets;
- Didn’t turn back immediately to Russell Wilson;
- Waiting for an unsure Aaron Rodgers desperately;
- And now passing up on Shedeur Sanders”
“I personally think Mike Tomlin just got himself fired last night. They just saw what happens when you throw in with Aaron Rodgers. They better be 100% positive he’s coming but even so….a defensive lineman over a QB? It had better work in Pittsburgh or it’s gonna get ugly fast,” said a third user.
A fourth fan added, “I would understand this if Justin Fields didn’t just walk out the building. But passing on [Shedeur] because you have a chance to sign damn near 40 year old Aaron Rodgers is just silly.”
