Shedeur Sanders has no business remaining on the NFL Draft board heading into Saturday’s fourth round.
At least, that’s how it feels publicly. Everyone seems at least a bit outraged or confused that Sanders hasn’t been chosen yet, and some are extremely outraged and confused.
The Colorado QB went from consensus first-rounder to nowhere to be found through three rounds. The 32 NFL owners apparently aren’t on the same page as the public.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has the boldest take on the matter.
Smith wrote on X:
“Someone just texted me this message and they are absolutely correct: ‘This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion.’ All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”
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Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem in peaceful protest and never really got another chance as a QB in the NFL again.
It’s not clear what Sanders, or potentially his father Deion, did.
MORE: Shedeur’s draft slide ‘about more than football
All that we know is that he hasn’t been picked yet.
How is it possible that 32 NFL teams, who all value quarterback highly and some need it, could pass up Sanders through 102 selections, counting compensatory picks, through three rounds?
The NFL does have a hivemind effect at times, where if one team passes on something, others will, too, just to stay in line.
That seems like the minimum of what is happening with Sanders.
Smith certainly believes it to be more than that.
Regardless, it’s simply a shame a star like Shedeur Sanders is still on the board, just like it was a shame when Kaepernick didn’t keep getting chances to play in the NFL. Hopefully Saturday finally solves the riddle sooner rather than later.
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