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Is Shedeur Sanders the Biggest NFL Draft Slide of All Time? Here Is What the Odds Say

Gabe Henderson

Last Updated: April 28, 2025 4:56 PM EDT • 3 min 40 sec read.

Is Shedeur Sanders the Biggest NFL Draft Slide of All Time?
Pictured: Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) warms up before the game against the Brigham Young Cougars. Photo by Troy Taormina via Imagn Images.

Shedeur Sanders' historic 2025 NFL Draft slide has come to an end. The Colorado quarterback - who was projected as a first-round pick - was taken in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. 

Sanders began the week as a favorite to be a top-five selection, but by the time his name was called, he wasn't even one of the first five quarterbacks taken. Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe, and Dillon Gabriel were all off the board before the son of former NFL superstar Deion Sanders.

Now that the 23-year-old has found his next destination, it's time to have a deeper discussion about the events that transpired throughout draft weekend. Sanders' slide will go down as one of the most infamous in the history of the sport, but is it the biggest of all time?

📉 Why do college football stars fall in the draft?

When players slide drastically in the NFL draft, it's because of one - or multiple - of a few reasons:

  • Character concerns
  • Combine performance
  • Legal issues
  • Size worries

This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface, either, as players can fall for any number of reasons.

Players who have legal concerns often slide the furthest. For example, La'el Collins was projected to be a top pick in the 2015 NFL Draft before news broke he was to be interviewed in a murder investigation. This led to the LSU lineman going undrafted, despite being subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.

For all intents and purposes, he is likely the biggest draft slide of all time, or at least in recent memory. That being said, it doesn't feel ethical to lump players such as Sanders in with those involved in legal proceedings.

🛝 Why did Sanders slide down draft boards?

Is Shedeur Sanders the Biggest NFL Draft Slide of All Time?
Pictured: A graphic announcing Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ selection by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick. Photo by Tork Mason / USA Today Network via Imagn Images.

Sanders completed 74% of his passes during his final year at Colorado for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. NFL teams should've been foaming at the mouth to add this talent to their ranks, so why wasn't this the case?

Countless people are involved in the draft process, so it's impossible to pinpoint exactly why Sanders wasn't selected by any of the 32 NFL teams in the first four rounds. Many had more pressing needs, others took a quarterback earlier in the draft, but there were a few franchises that simply elected to pass on Sanders.

An ESPN profile on Sanders' dramatic drop cited that, "teams had a problem with Sanders and all that encompasses his draft profile." While there's simply no telling what all that verbiage entails, it's clear his entourage could've handled the pre-draft strategy with more attention to detail. Sanders didn't take advantage of every opportunity he was presented with to work out in front of teams at different venues (i.e., the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine). Instead, his camp decided to work out at Colorado's pro day to showcase his throwing skills.

Furthermore, there were reports that his meetings with quarterback-needy teams - such as the New York Giants - went poorly. There is also the reality that drafting Sanders means welcoming all of the attention that comes with the quarterback, such as his family and millions of social media followers, for better or worse.

In the end, the 31 teams that passed on Sanders had their own reasons. Be it that they didn't see enough of him off the field, they didn't need a quarterback, they didn't want to deal with his undeniable fame, or any other rationale, each contributed to the star quarterback sliding into the fifth round.

📊 What were the odds of Sanders' historic slide?

All things considered, it's safe to say Sanders' drop in the draft is one of the most drastic - if not the single-most - we have ever witnessed. He was listed as the consensus betting favorite at our best sports betting sites to be taken No. 1 overall when the 2025 NFL Draft odds market opened.

DraftKings listed the 23-year-old at even money (+100) to be the first name off the board in April 2024. These odds imply a 50% probability that Sanders would be drafted No. 1 - never mind in the first round.

It's important to highlight his odds on Thursday, the morning of the draft, to understand just how unprecedented this situation was over the weekend. Sanders was listed at -170 at DraftKings to be taken inside the top 10 just hours before the draft, according to CBS.

His draft position total climbed from O/U 3.5 earlier in the month to O/U 21.5 on Thursday, which indicated oddsmakers gathered more intel in the hours leading up to the draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the ones to watch on draft night, but even after the Steelers passed, Sanders was the heavy betting favorite to be taken at No. 33 entering the second round.

Yet the former Colorado and Jackson State product continued his descent down the draft until the Browns stopped the skid in the fifth round. Sanders' slide from a potential top pick to a fifth-round selection was an unparalleled phenomenon in every sense ... and the betting odds back that up.

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Written By:
Gabe Henderson
Gabe Henderson is a sports betting writer from Houston, Texas. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication. Gabe developed an interest in sports betting while in college due to its legalization in Louisiana. He turned his passion into a career shortly after, joining The Advocate/NOLA.com as a Sports Betting Content Coordinator, where he spent two years. Gabe wore many hats before graduating as he led FanSided's coverage of Chelsea FC as a Site Expert with "The Pride of London." He was also the Editor-in-Chief of the LSU Gumbo Yearbook for two years. Gabe became a part of the SportsbookReview.com team in late 2024. He brings with him an extensive knowledge of many sports, including — but not limited to — NFL, NCAA, MLB, NBA, soccer, and UFC.