The first round of the 2025 NFL draft happened on Thursday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The fortunes of 32 young football players changed over the course of the evening as they heard their names called by NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell. But one of the most talked about football players available on the draft board didn’t hear his name called: Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders—the former quarterback for Jackson State University and the University of Colorado, and the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders—was one of the most dissected and analyzed players leading up to the draft causing him to sit high on some draft analysts charters and lower on others, fell out of the first round, but he didn’t let that reality dampen his spirits.
From his home in Texas and alongside his father and family members, Sanders shared a message with his supporters (shared from the elder Sanders’ Instagram page) of encouragement and optimism.
“We all didn’t expect this, of course, but I feel like with God, anything is possible; everything is possible. I don’t feel like this happened for no reason. All of this is, of course, fuel to the fire. Under no circumstances did we all know this was going to happen, but we understand we’re on to bigger and better things. Tomorrow’s the day. We’re going to be happy regardless. Legendary.”
For those unfamiliar with the process, Sanders still has a shot at being drafted in the second, third, or even fourth through seventh rounds of the NFL draft.
Sanders is one of the highest-rated players on the board for Friday night’s second round. His teammate, Heisman Trophy-winning two-way player Travis Hunter, was taken 2nd overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in a trade that overshadowed Cam Ward, the Heisman nominee, going number one overall to the Tennessee Titans. Sanders and Hunter recently had their Buffalos jersey numbers retired by the University of Colorado.
