Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders addressed his supporters Thursday night in Texas after he went undrafted in the first round of the NFL draft, telling them that “under no circumstance, we all know this shouldn’t have happened.”
Sanders, the youngest son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, had been projected in the months before the draft as a top-five pick and one of the two top quarterback prospects in the draft. ESPN even reported there was only a 3% chance he’d fall out of the first round altogether.
But two other quarterbacks were picked before him: Cam Ward of Miami at No. 1 overall and Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss at No. 25. All the teams with quarterback needs picked them or decided to wait, including the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21.
“We all didn’t expect this of course, but I feel like with God, anything possible; everything possible,” Shedeur Sanders said, as posted by his father on his Instagram account. “I don’t feel like this happened, you know, for no reason. All this is of course, fuel to the fire. And under no circumstance, we all know this shouldn’t have happened. But we understand we on to bigger and better things. Tomorrow’s a day. We’re gonna be happy regardless. Legendary.”
Round 2 of the draft begins Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Sanders led major college football in 2024 with a 74% completion percentage while helping the Buffaloes improve to 9-4 just two years after they finished 1-11. But he might not have appealed to some teams because of his lack of mobility, unlike Ward and Dart. He’s more of a pocket passer in the mold of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, quite different than Patrick Mahomes, the mobile Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who is now the NFL’s gold standard.
Sanders did not attend the draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and instead spent the night with friends and family at his father’s ranch in Texas.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com