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NFL Draft: Sanders falls out of Round 1, Jags take Travis Hunter at No. 2<\/p>\n
USA TODAY Sports’ Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the biggest storylines from Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
Sports Pulse<\/p>\n
Editor’s note: Follow 2025 NFL Draft live updates, grades and analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legendary.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a new twist to that theme with Shedeur Sanders.<\/a> After his precipitous slide out of the first round on Thursday night, the most polarizing player in the NFL Draft<\/a> suddenly has another whole package of drama attached to his compelling storyline.<\/p>\n So, nobody thought the Colorado quarterback and high-profiled son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was worth a first-round pick?<\/p>\n As Shedeur himself put it in addressing the partygoers who came to help celebrate his big draft moment at the bash staged at his father\u2019s ranch in Texas, this statement about his draft stock has added some fuel to the fire.<\/p>\n “Under no circumstance, we all know this shouldn\u2019t have happened,” Sanders said at the end of an event that morphed from festive to somber.<\/a><\/p>\n Was that the reaction of someone entitled? Or just the truth?<\/p>\n Given all of the negativity heaped on Sanders in the weeks leading up to the draft \u2013 including shots from anonymous sources who attacked him as arrogant and entitled — I\u2019m having a hard time shaking the feeling that the snub went beyond football.<\/p>\n Sure, nitpicking is allowed \u2013 and expected as part of the due diligence of talent evaluations \u2013 when it comes to breaking down prospects. But in Sanders\u2019 case, even if his correctable flaw of holding onto the football too long can be fixed (like flaws that can be found with any given prospect), it strikes me as a culture pick, too. Or non-pick.<\/p>\n Shedeur is flashy, for sure. Like father, like son, in that regard.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s what tipped the scales for some teams \u2013 and especially the New York Giants<\/a> \u2013 then shame on them. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Sanders was one of the most productive quarterbacks on the college landscape last season, passing for more than 4,000 yards with 37 touchdowns and an NCAA-leading 74% completion rate. He plays a premium position. And the NFL, with some teams searching for their franchise anchors for decades, seemingly never can have enough quarterbacks. You\u2019d think that would been enough to at least get him in the first round.<\/p>\n If you wonder how Sanders, as the face of a franchise, would represent himself \u2013 and the franchise \u2013 in the face of adversity and the intense spotlight, then consider the level-headed maturity he demonstrated on Thursday night as his draft bash fizzled.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t hide and run for cover. No, Sanders assured his supporters that he would embrace whatever the coming days present. Sure, he had to be embarrassed. Yet it was an undeniable stand-up moment that provided another example of what his father said about his youngest son being built for dealing with adversity.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s fascinating that there wasn\u2019t a single team inspired enough to make an aggressive move for him as his stock tumbled during the first round.<\/p>\n The Giants did exactly that, but not for Sanders. The G-Men, who drafted Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter with the third pick overall,<\/a> traded back into the first round to select former Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart with the 25th pick.<\/p>\n And the Giants also made a significant offer<\/a> to the Tennessee Titans, presumably in the days before the draft, to secure the top pick overall, to use on former Miami quarterback Cam Ward.<\/a><\/p>\n Remember this. The Giants could have had Sanders, but instead preferred Dart.<\/p>\n Maybe Dart will turn out to be the next Phil Simms or Eli Manning for a franchise that only a few years ago rolled out the red carpet for since-discarded Daniel Jones. It\u2019s also possible that in a league with a 50-50 hit-or-miss rate for first-round quarterbacks, the Giants may have overplayed their hand.<\/p>\n This, of course, is what makes the draft so compelling \u2013 especially in the ensuing years as the decisions play out on the field. Re-drafts, 20\/20 hindsight and man-to-man comparisons will allow the draft analysis to flow on for years to come.<\/p>\n In Sanders\u2019 case, though, it feels weird. And not only because the Giants passed on him. Other QB-needy teams, like the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints, also were moved enough on Sanders to deal back into the first round to get him.<\/p>\n