Why hasn’t Shedeur Sanders been drafted yet? It’s complicated
By Jeff Howe
Shedeur Sanders’
fall from the first round was about a simple evaluation.
The quarterback’s
plummet this far, though? That’s a whole lot more complicated.
The former Colorado star, who was once viewed as a candidate to become the top QB in the NFL Draft class, remains without a team Saturday as the fourth round opens. Five quarterbacks have already been selected, including three on Friday: Louisville’s Tyler Shough (No. 40 to the New Orleans Saints), Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (No. 92 to the Seattle Seahawks) and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (No. 94 to the Cleveland Browns).
Depending on who you asked around the NFL, Sanders’ roller-coaster draft weekend has ranged from wholly predictable to fairly shocking. Some teams, pointedly, didn’t like Sanders as a prospect. Others weighed heavily the off-field distractions that could stunt his development in the league.
And at this point, with that debate still raging, Sanders’ extended availability has already gone down as one of the biggest draft dramas in recent memory.
Let’s assess the reasons he’s still on the board.
The backup dilemma
Sanders is an
imperfect prospect on the field. He throws a great deep ball, but league evaluators have described his accuracy and arm strength as good but not great. His shorter throws tend to come out wobbly, something that presented itself during his pro day, and that’s a concern for teams that run a lot of quick timing routes. He’s also not much of a running threat.
But those are primarily the reasons Sanders wasn’t a first-rounder. His free fall through Rounds 2 and 3 has invited a more nuanced discourse.
In the NFL, the backup quarterback is typically the most popular guy in town. Fans love the backups and clamor for them when things aren’t going well with the starter. Quite frankly, while many teams absolutely place a priority on the backup quarterback position, it’s usually better when the player is more anonymous than not. The face of the franchise is, well, supposed to be the face of the franchise.
Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, will have more name recognition than a chunk of the league’s current starters. He’ll also walk into an NFL facility with the unbridled support of a segment of his team’s fan base, no questions asked.
Sure, several teams can holster a backup of Sanders’ stature with minimal distractions — the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals top the list — but there are far more that can’t.
The teams with more tepid QB situations will deal with a constant barrage of questions. Every loss and every interception will invite questions about the backup quarterback. Remember, former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked in 2014 if it was time to bench Tom Brady for Jimmy Garoppolo. If Brady wasn’t immune then, who would be now?
These might sound like excuses, but they’re actual factors in the decision-making process. Maybe the starting quarterback is mentally strong enough to handle that pressure, but what about the rest of the locker room? What about the coach and the general manager?
A barrage of quarterback questions can be the fastest way to put an organization on tilt.
By now, it’s become abundantly clear Sanders won’t join a team with a legitimate chance to be the starter. And many teams have declared, 102 picks into this draft, they aren’t comfortable drafting a backup who will invite all those questions.
Off the field
Teams are competitive with one another, but that doesn’t mean they don’t talk.
Sanders interviewed well in some places during the pre-draft process, but he interviewed very poorly with others. Why the disconnect? Teams are concerned about that.
He didn’t do himself any favors by sitting out practice at the East-West Shrine Bowl. There are other things that teams have nitpicked about him off the field that may not sound like a big deal in a vacuum but add up when it comes down to projecting his ability to lead other professionals in a locker room.
There’s also the question over his learning curve. Colorado ran a fairly simple offense, and it’s fair to wonder how long it will take Sanders to adapt to an NFL system. Of course, these questions come up annually with all QB prospects, so it’s nothing new with Sanders. But as they examine whether football or the Sanders brand carries more weight, they wonder if he’ll reach his potential on the field.
Limited market
The Tennessee Titans drafted Cam Ward to be their franchise quarterback with the No. 1 pick. The New York Giants selected Jaxson Dart at No. 25 to compete for the job eventually. The Saints wanted Shough at No. 40 as insurance for Derek Carr.
Aside from them, who was realistically looking for a starting QB? The Pittsburgh Steelers are still awaiting word from Aaron Rodgers. The Browns have all but declared they’re in a bridge year with Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. The Indianapolis Colts might be in no-man’s land with Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, but they weren’t going to create a three-headed monster with an early QB pick.
Everyone else has their starter written in pen or a pretty heavy pencil.
Every team evaluates the quarterback class to a certain extent. The scouting departments do their work throughout the season and the pre-draft process, but it’s ultimately up to the general manager and head coach to determine how seriously they should consider a QB. If a team is set at the position, whether that team is considering the future of its starter or backup, the GM and head coach usually won’t invest their limited resources if it’s not necessary.
Sanders is available to everyone, but that doesn’t mean everyone has devoted hundreds of hours to Sanders. They’ve moved on to other prospects. They understand the criticisms, and they probably aren’t changing their minds this late in the process.
So, what’s next?
As a general rule, fourth-round picks are expected to make the team out of training camp. Fifth-rounders open the offseason on the inside of the bubble. The rest have to earn it.
Most fourth-rounders will earn a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $1 million. That’s cut in half in the fifth round. Seventh-rounders will typically earn at least $100,000, plus their base salaries if they make the team out of camp.
The financial element is a factor. If teams want Sanders to earn his spot, they could be inclined to use money as a motivator, especially since they’ve already waited this long.
So could he go undrafted? It’s wild to think that’s even a consideration, but it’s impossible to rule out any outcome at this point.
From what we can tell at
The Athletic, teams have not taken Sanders off of their draft boards, so he should theoretically be called Saturday.
But that he’s waited this long to hear his name, it’s clear teams have a lot to think about as they assess a potential future with Sanders.
