Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Stephen A Smith Goes Off in Reaction to Shedeur Sanders Falling in NFL Draft

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Levine | Last updated Apr 25, 2025 2:19 PM ET

The first round of the 2025 NFL draft is over, and one of the biggest surprises was that Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders wasn't selected. Despite entering the draft with a ton of hype, Sanders will still be available when the second round opens.

There are many theories about why Sanders fell in the draft, with some pointing to him being a little overhyped ahead of it all. But longtime ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has a different idea.

Smith seems to believe that Sanders' dad, Deion, played a role in this occurrence. Smith spoke about this on his morning show earlier today.

"I believe that the biggest issue in all of this was Primetime Deion Sanders and the thought of having to deal with him... it's hard for me to sit here today and to watch a dude that was once projected to be one of the top 2 picks potentially in the draft to drop completely out of the first round and to ignore all those reports that had come out about him leading into the draft."

No matter what the reason is, Sanders is still available. But the quarterback could use this as motivation to silence any doubters that he may have.

Sanders was good at Colorado, but never lived up to the overall promise that many fans have been talking about. The Buffalos also retired his jersey number, despite a limited amount of success with the program.

Sanders will likely be selected on day two of the NFL draft, but it remains to be seen which team will take him. But whoever it is, they will likely be getting a highly motivated player who has a lot to prove.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: