ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller has attributed Shedeur Sanders’ sudden slide to the fifth spherical of the 2025 NFL Draft to missteps in his pre-draft course of.
Regardless of Sanders’ spectacular manufacturing at Colorado, together with throwing for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in his last season in faculty, Miller emphasised that off-field issues considerably impacted his draft inventory.
In an interview on the Terrible Asserting Podcast, Miller said, “The NFL will humble anyone,” highlighting that groups had been cautious of Sanders’ method main as much as the draft, which included him sitting out drills on the NFL Scouting Mix.
“I didn’t think that they handled the process well,” Miller mentioned of Sanders and his camp. “And that’s not simply hindsight. I took numerous warmth for saying on ‘NFL Live’ proper earlier than the NFL Scouting Mix that he was making a mistake. He ought to be throwing on the NFL Scouting Mix.
“He should have worked out at the East-West Shrine Game that he accepted an invite to. The NFL has this new rule that if you accept an invite to an All-Star Game, you have to participate. And he didn’t. So I said on TV that they were not handling the process well. And I thought it would hurt him. People were not happy with me.”
Sanders completed eighth in Heisman voting in 2024 however fell to No. 144 general, the place he was chosen by the Cleveland Browns regardless of the group taking Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel two rounds earlier.
“I had a lot of messages,” Miller recalled. “I had a lot of responses to the video ESPN put out saying that. So I do think… Was he overrated as a player? Yes, based on the talents and the tools he has as a player, he was not a top two or three player in this draft class. But then you get to the process part of it. And the NFL will humble anyone. How the NFL views you and evaluates you, they will humble every player.”
Miller continued, “So I think for the Sanders camp, they had this perception of Shedeur as a lock two or three draft pick. And they approached the process that way. There was never anyone from the outside that could get through to him and say, ‘Wait a second, he’s not guaranteed to be a two or three draft pick.’ And the fact that you are approaching the process that way is hurting him.”
Additional compounding issues had been critiques from nameless NFL sources describing Sanders as entitled and tough to work with throughout interviews.
Sanders reportedly obtained “pissed” throughout his go to with the Giants when he obtained referred to as out for not catching a mistake.
Sanders now joins a QB room together with Gabriel, former first-round decide Kenny Pickett, veteran gunslinger Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson, who’s more likely to miss the 2025 season after re-tearing his Achilles in rehab.
