Shedeur Sanders did not hear his name called with one of the 32 picks in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but that is not a surprise. It really isn't, and whether you want to admit it or not, Sanders has gotten a huge name bump for years now.
Coming into the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, it was clear that Sanders was one of the top QBs taken in all of these initial mock drafts, but as the prospect evaluation went on, what also become more clear was how limited of player Shedeur Sanders is.
Him not being a first-round pick, even in a weak QB class, is no a surprise, and people should quit acting like it is.
Shedeur Sanders is a QB you can 'win with' at the NFL level
The main issue with Shedeur Sanders is that he is relatively maxed out as a QB prospect and really only might be a QB teams can win with at the next level, but what does that QB do for a franchise besides keep them in an average position?
Other QBs that NFL teams win with, mostly, include players like Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, and Geno Smith. They're fine passers and have a lot to like with their individual games, but this is not someone a team needs to use a first-round pick on. When you think about it, the QBs that have some out of the NFL Draft in recent years who have also been said to have the highest ceilings tend to work out the most.
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, and others have been more of those raw, high-ceiling prospects that have certainly worked out more than QBs who are deemed "NFL ready."
That is the main issue with Shedeur Sanders - he is closer to being Josh Rosen as a prospect than he is Josh Allen, so him falling out of Round 1 is not a surprise, period.