Shedeur Sanders’ Drop to the Fifth Round of the 2025 NFL Draft Analysed by Stephen A. Smith

Shedeur Sanders‘ premature slide to the fifth round was the storyline and headline that captured the nation’s attention the most out of all the stories and headlines that came out of the 2025 NFL Draft. The former Buffalo was once touted as a top 10 prospect, but before the Cleveland Browns opted to end the suffering, he fell all the way to the 144th overall choice in the draft.

Shedeur Sanders with his buddy, Travis Hunter

Almost anything has been mentioned by both fans and pundits as a possible reason for the draft day fiasco, from sluggish release dates to allegations of collusion.

Stephen A. Smith gives his take on why Shedeur Sanders wasn’t picked up early

Stephen A. Smith, one of ESPN’s top commentators, nevertheless, made every effort to find the truth.

Smith is now claiming that Sanders’ conceit is to blame for the decline, citing the fact that he spoke with other NFL executives. He said:

“They talked about, if he was more buttoned up, and all about ball and team as opposed to himself, he would have fallen no later than number 21 in the draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, he fell to 144, and they call it a minimum of a $30 million mistake.”

Smith maintained that Sanders is a “box office” personality and head coach, but his research indicates that the NFL’s top brass didn’t like his father’s demands and attempts to exert authority.

“Because he let you know that he believed in his son, because he let you know what his son could do, because he let you know that he damn sure was going to keep an eye on things and he was going to have a voice in the proceedings… It’s entirely plausible that the owners were like ‘Who the hell does he think he is? You don’t run this shop, we do.’ Because these owners are like that.”

Smith’s piece seems to imply that NFL executives didn’t think the 23-year-old prospect was worth the hassle, considering the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Sanders.

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