Arguably the most compelling prospect at the 2025 NFL Draft is Shedeur Sanders. The Colorado quarterback checks off a lot of boxes that make him a lightning rod, particularly as draft week has descended upon the league. Sanders plays the most important position in the sport, has a Pro Football Hall of Fame father who coached him at the collegiate level, and it’s an utter mystery as to where he’ll end up.
Despite being CBS Sports’ No. 2-ranked quarterback prospect, Sanders’ draft range is wide open. While Miami quarterback Cam Ward is the heavy favorite to be taken by the Tennessee Titans with the first overall pick, Sanders coming off the board next is no sure thing, even with teams like the Cleveland Browns (No. 2 overall) and New York Giants (No. 3 overall) having clear needs at the position. Of course, Sanders could ultimately land inside the top-three when it’s all said and done, but is floor also includes him possibly falling out of the first round entirely.
Given how polarizing Sanders has been throughout the pre-draft process and the variance of his draft range, there’s almost too much information for one person to digest. With that in mind, we’ve made this your one-stop shop for everything related to Sanders and what his fate the the NFL Draft will be.
Below, you’ll find a ranking of which destinations would be best for Sanders, a betting view of his draft range, and the latest updates of his stock leading into Day 1 of the draft on Thursday night.
Check out the latest NFL mock drafts from experts as part of CBS Sports’ full coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft, which kicks off Thursday night from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Familiarize yourself with the 2025 NFL Draft order, the latest draft day intel and learn what each team’s best-case-scenario pick looks like. For more in-depth draft analysis, check out “With the First Pick” podcast with host Ryan Wilson and former Titans general manager Ran Carthon.
Ranking Shedeur Sanders landing spots
- Los Angeles Rams (No. 26 overall)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 21 overall)
- Cleveland Browns (No. 2 overall)
- New Orleans Saints (No. 9 overall)
- New York Giants (No. 3 overall)
- New York Jets (No. 7 overall)
- Las Vegas Raiders (No. 6 overall)
To read more about the top-ranked landing spots for Sanders, click here.
Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft odds
- To be the second quarterback taken (-175)
- To be the No. 2 overall pick (+2800)
- To be the No. 3 overall pick (+1100)
- Draft position: 14.5 (Over -400, Under +280)
- To be drafted top 10 (+330)
- To be drafted first round (-750)
- Which team will Shedeur Sanders be drafted by? Pittsburgh Steelers (-150)
All NFL odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Latest Shedeur Sanders updates, rumors
April 23 — Former NFL head coach — and current Nebraska Cornhuskers coach — Matt Rhule is very high on Sanders. “I would take him No. 3 overall. Without a question,” Rhule told ESPN. “I think he’s tough. You can quote me on this. This is how strong I feel. He took 12 hits against us. Twelve hits. There were seven sacks. He’s accurate, smart. Sees coverages. Can run if he has to. He’s gone to two places that haven’t won and they won.”
April 23 — Sanders appears to like the fit with the Giants, Saints and Steelers. Or at least, he has a high opinion of some of his potential weapons in New York, New Orleans and Pittsburgh. “I like (Chris) Olave, I like Malik (Nabers), and I like George Pickens and DK Metcalf,” Sanders said with a smile. “So, whatever that means for whoever is listening.”
April 23 — A general manager was given the space by NFL Media to blast Sanders under the cover of anonymity. Regarding Sanders, the GM said he had “the worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life. He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates. … But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”
April 22 — As Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reports, there is still plenty of variance among NFL evaluators and this year’s quarterback class, including with Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. The report notes that among the 10 teams that Robinson spoke to, half still assessed Sanders as a possible top-10 pick on Thursday night. Four others pinned him to come off the boars somewhere in the middle of the first round. Only one team had him in the second. So, despite some skepticism that he could fall, there is reportedly “a strong ribbon of executives still believe Sanders will exist Thursday having gone in the top 10.”
April 22 — The Times-Picayune reports that, while they are not sure who the Saints will draft with the No. 9 overall pick in the draft, they can safely say that it won’t be Sanders. The Saints weren’t one of the teams that brought Sanders in for a workout, so despite the speculation connecting them to him, it actually makes sense that they wouldn’t be his landing spot.
April 22 — The latest betting odds reveal a new favorite for Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. While the New Orleans Saints had been the betting favorite to draft Sanders for weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers now claim that title. They are +310 to select Sanders at FanDuel Sportsbook, while New Orleans has tumbled to the fourth-highest odds at +370.
April 16 — According to Sports Illustrated, various NFL scouts do not have a first-round grade on Sanders. The report also noted that Sanders isn’t expected to be selected inside the top 10 of the draft, despite teams having clear needs at the position. If he does go in the first round, Albert Breer writes, ” it’ll be because an owner got involved.”
April 15 — Former NFL safety and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who played with Deion Sanders and remains close to the family, said on First Take that he believes folks in Sanders’ “inner circle” hope that he falls outside of the top three, meaning that he’s not selected by the Browns or the New York Giants.
“There are other teams they want to go to,” Riddick said.
April 14 — The NFL announced which prospects will be in Green Bay for the NFL Draft, and that does not include Sanders. Given that he is expected to be the second quarterback off the board, it’s unlikely he wasn’t invited by the league. Rather, instead of attending the event in person, Sanders has likely opted to be remote and watch the draft from a different location around friends and family.
April 14 — The New York Giants have scheduled a last-minute workout with Sanders in Boulder, Colorado on Thursday, according to NFL Media. New York has Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston as notable free agent additions on the roster, but the club does hold the No. 3 overall pick and could look to Sanders as its long-term option at the position.
April 8 — As the Pittsburgh Steelers wait in Aaron Rodgers purgatory, the franchise did welcome Sanders in for a pre-draft visit. Pittsburgh currently holds the 21st pick in the draft.
April 7 — Sanders proclaimed himself the “best quarterback in the draft” and noted that NFL teams would be “fools” to pass on him in an interview with ESPN.
April 5 — The Tennessee Titans and Shedeur Sanders agreed to cancel their private workout following the Colorado Pro Day. This all but ensures that Tennessee will be selecting Cam Ward with the first overall pick.
April 4 — CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson reports Sanders shined at the Colorado Pro Day. Wilson noted that one of his immediate takeaways “was that he has a quicker release than I saw on tape. He also has a better arm than I thought, and he reconfirmed what I had seen countless times over the last two years at Colorado: he layers the ball extremely well on second-level out-breaking routes, and he’s the best deep-ball thrower in this draft.”
April 2 — Per Fox Sports, one NFL executive is convinced the Browns will take Sanders with the second overall pick, eliminating the possibility for the Giants to consider selecting him at No. 3 overall.
March 29 — Deion Sanders, Shedeur’s father and NFL legend, told “The Skip Bayless Show” that he’ll be happy wherever Shedeur ultimately lands in the league, and won’t try to grease the draft board to get him to a preferred destination.
March 4 — Per Cleveland.com, the Browns are the first team to bring Sanders in for a top-30 visit. However, The Athletic reports that there is a feeling within the league that the club isn’t high enough on Sanders currently to select him second overall, but that could change with more exposure to the player.
Feb. 26 — At the NFL Scouting Combine, the Browns met with both Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. Head coach Kevin Stefanski came away impressed with Sanders as a person, while also acknowledging his skills on the field.
“Shedeur is a very, very impressive young man,” Stefanski said. “Was raised the right way. Obviously, he’s a heck of a football player. That’s evident off the tape. But really impressed with the person.”
Mock draft landing spots
With just hours remaining until the first round of the NFL Draft, here’s where our various CBS Sports draft experts have Sanders landing. There is a consensus emerging late in the game…
Ryan Wilson: Steelers (No. 21). Pittsburgh could go defensive line here, but instead, Sanders finally comes off the board. As I like to say, fit matters, and while this isn’t a Shanahan or McVay offense, it’s one that leans on the run game and doesn’t have to ask a lot of its QBs.
Chris Trapasso: Steelers (No. 21). This is one of two ideal landing spots for Sanders to be maximized in the NFL. Mike Tomlin can handle the Sanders media circus.
Mike Renner: Steelers (No. 21). The slide stops here as Sanders. The Steelers may be the only team outside of the top 10 that would even take a quarterback in the first round.
Josh Edwards: Steelers (No. 21). Pittsburgh is still being held hostage by Aaron Rodgers. Although the organization should not allow that situation to impact its decision in the first round, how could it not? The Steelers are the definition of stable. It is difficult to envision there is a comfort level going into the season with Mason Rudolph as the lone option at the game’s most important position. Pittsburgh has done a lot of homework on Shedeur Sanders.
R.J. White: Steelers (No. 21). Sanders’ stock has fallen and he’s a massive favorite to go outside the top 10 picks at this point, but FanDuel is listing him at -168 to go Under 21.5, which makes him the pick here. The Steelers are also the favorites to draft Sanders among the books who have that prop listed.
Pete Prisco: Out of the first round. But this is my Round 1 mock. It’s my final one, and it has just one quarterback in it: Cam Ward to Tennessee with the first overall pick. I think there could be another who will go if a team trades back into the first, but I didn’t do that for this one. One quarterback. Teams can wait until next year.
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Author: Tyler Sullivan
April 24, 2025 | 11:15 am
