In light of quarterback Shedeur Sanders slipping to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft, there have been whispers that Sanders’ pre-draft visits didn’t go all that swimmingly.
One anonymous NFL executive told Dianna Russini of The Athletic that Sanders treated his visits as “a recruiting trip versus a job interview.” The very same executive argued that Sanders would have benefited from hiring his own agent as well.
One of the biggest stars in the NFL recently reacted to the narrative and didn’t hold anything back, as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce let his feelings be known.
The Draft is only the beginning of Shedeur Sanders' NFL journey pic.twitter.com/BiaX2toTh9
— New Heights (@newheightshow) April 30, 2025
“I think whoever’s the f—— anonymous person that’s f—— saying this should f—— come out and say who they were and what — like, what the f— is that about?” Kelce said. “I’m not sure why he dropped, whether it was the interviews or whether it was stuff that they saw on film. What I saw on film, I thought he was a way higher pick. And I think that’s all that should matter.”
Sanders had to wait and hear more than 100 other players have their names called in the draft before he was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 144 overall pick. Sanders’ slide during the draft was particularly notable in part because for a sizable chunk of the collegiate season, he was the betting favorite to be drafted with the No. 1 overall pick.
He carved out a tremendously successful campaign playing for the University of Colorado Boulder under his father in the 2024 season. He earned a second-team All-American nod as well as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award for putting up passing numbers that rivaled those of any player at his position in the nation.
In 13 games, Sanders totaled a whopping 4,134 passing yards to go along with 37 passing touchdowns. He ranked tops in his conference in both of those stats all the while leading the nation with a completion percentage of 74.0.
If Sanders’ incredible productivity in his final season of college football is any indication, he could make an impact from the jump at the NFL level for a Browns team that was one of the worst in all of football in the 2024 season. Cleveland finished in a three-way tie with the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants for the worst record in the league at 3-14.
Perhaps it won’t be long before rival NFL teams will begin to regret passing on Sanders in the draft.
