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The opening round of the NFL 2025 draft brought its fair share of surprises, but the fall of Sheduer Sanders was undoubtedly the most important event of the night.
Friday, the Sanders saga went from surprising to effectively inexplicable.
Each team, including the franchises that has entered this year’s draft with question points at the quarter post, sent the selection of the former quarter of Colorado to the first, second or third round. Since Thursday, many figures in the world of sport and beyond have shared reflections on the reasons why Sanders fell on the draft boards.
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Sheder Sanders looks at his Jersey retirement ceremony during the NCAA College football spring match in Colorado, Saturday April 19, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP photo / jack dempsey)
Pete Thamel d’Espn is part of this group. According to Thamel conversations with several teams, Sanders’ free fall could be widely attributed to the assessment of its talent.
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“I spoke about half a dozen teams today … They just thought he was not a talent in the first round and a first-round player,” Thamel said on Friday.
Pete Thamel attends the 11th Allstate annual party at the playoff series at Yards Pullman on January 18, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Carol Lee Rose / Getty Images)
Thamel added that some teams had questioned Sanders’ overall athletics.
“They wanted to see him more in rhythm. They wanted to see him show a little more athletics. He is considered a mediocre athlete who did not have enough film that they immediately thought of translated.”
November 29, 2024; BOULDER, Colorado: The quarter of the Colorado Shemer Sanders buffalo (2) hikes in the first quarter against the Oklahoma State cowboys in Folsom Field. (Images of Ron Chenoy-Imagn)
While the second round on Friday came and came without the name of Sanders which leaves the board of directors, the NFL teams bypassing the quarter position in the first part of the second day were a trend in the last two years.
A single quarter-arre was selected in the second round of the NFL draft since 2023, added Thamel.
Sanders remained available once the fourth round was finished on Saturday afternoon.
Sanders finished the 2024 season with 4,134 yards with the pass. He is the son of the renowned professional football temple and Colorado football coach, Deion Sanders.
