With the 2025 NFL Combine complete, teams around the league will be setting up their boards for the NFL Draft that kicks off on April 24. With several teams potentially in the mix looking for a quarterback, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders has been considered a first-round pick this offseason.
When the college football season ended, the consensus about Sanders was that he could be selected within the first five picks. However, after choosing not to throw at the combine, top draft evaluator Lance Zierlein predicts the 23-year-old quarterback will slide to the No. 29 pick overall in the draft.
Zierlein believes the Cleveland Browns will trade their second-round pick and some change to the Washington Commanders to get back into the first round and take the Colorado football star. He states, “Sanders’ slide is over, as the Browns flip their No. 33 overall pick and an additional selection to the Commanders in order to take a swing at a QB of the future.”
The Browns own the No. 2 pick of the NFL draft this year, and Zierlein believes the front office will use that pick to select Colorado’s two-way star, Travis Hunter. If this scenario plays out, then Cleveland would be acquiring both Sanders and Hunter in the first round.
Cleveland is rumored to be interested in the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. Other teams that are seemingly in the mix are the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, and New York Jets.
Sanders played two years at Jackson State before transferring to Colorado after his father, Deion Sanders, accepted the Buffaloes head coaching job in 2023. The prospect quarterback recorded career highs at the D1 level in the 2024 season, totaling 4,134 passing yards, 41 total touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while throwing an impressive 74.0% completion percentage.
The Colorado football team finished with a 9-4 record last season, which was a huge step forward after going 4-8 in the 2023 season. With Sanders leading the way at quarterback, the Buffaloes were able to clinch a bowl game for the first time since the 2016 season when the program was still part of the Pac-12 Conference.
Sanders will be involved in plenty of rumors moving forward until he’s eventually selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Although Zierlein predicts that Sanders will drop into the later portion of the first round, it’s not a guarantee. It’s still early in the process, and the Colorado football star can still turn heads at his pro day, as well as meetings with various teams around the league.
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