Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’s astonishing slide in the NFL draft continued Friday as the son of former Dallas Cowboys great Deion Sanders went unselected in the second and third rounds. Sanders had been widely tipped to go in the first round on Thursday, but University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward, the number one overall pick by the Tennessee Titans, was one of just two quarterbacks taken in the first round of the annual allocation of NFL rights for top college talent. Jaxson Dart was also taken in the first round, and three more collegiate signal-callers were taken on Friday — arguably none with as strong of a resume as Sanders, who was the Big 12 conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.
After the attention Sanders received in the run-up to the draft, pundits were buzzing over the possible reasons teams declined to select him — a surprise that even caught the attention of US President Donald Trump. “What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?” Trump asked in a Truth Social post before the second round of the draft began on Friday. “Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and was even greater in the NFL. He’s also a very good coach, streetwise and smart! Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has PHENOMENAL GENES, and is all set for Greatness,” Trump wrote.
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Trump wasn’t the only puzzled onlooker, with some wondering whether Sanders’s level of celebrity even before reaching the NFL had put off some teams, or whether they were wary of how he would develop when he was no longer being coached by his famous, and famously out-spoken, father. Sanders, who can still be selected during the final four rounds of the draft on Saturday, opted not to work out at the NFL scouting combine, where prospects have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills. He didn’t attend the draft held this year at the home of the Green Bay Packers, opting instead for a private draft watch party in Texas.
When the first round ended and his name had not been called, Sanders said on social media it was “more fuel to the fire.” When Friday’s selections ended he posted on X simply: “Thank you GOD for EVERYTHING.”
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