Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders throws the ball against the UCLA Bruins in the first half at Rose Bowl. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Dallas Cowboys legend explains Shedeur Sanders' fall in 2025 NFL draft

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI
By Randy Gurzi | Last updated May 1, 2025 9:23 AM ET

Shedeur Sanders had one of the more baffling falls in NFL draft history this past weekend. Even with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones urging teams to bring him in , the Colorado Buffaloes star was expected to go as early as the first round of the draft, but fell to the fifth.

Eventually, the Cleveland Browns stopped the slide, taking him at No. 144 overall. Still, there are questions surrounding the entire situation.

The latest to weigh in on what transpired is Cowboy legend Troy Aikman. According to Joey Hayden of The Dallas Morning News, Aikman says there might be more behind the scenes than we're privy to. However, he says teams will take a quarterback if they believe they're a franchise guy, meaning they weren't sure if Sanders could be that.

“I just feel there’s probably a lot more than what we’ve heard, but it sounds to me, at the end of the day, that people questioned whether or not he could, in fact, be a franchise quarterback. I do believe that if a team, especially at that position, a quarterback, if a team believes that you can be a franchise quarterback, they’re going to take you. I mean, they’re simply going to take you."

Aikman continued, “From what I’ve heard, it just sounds like if Team Shedeur had a chance to do it over again, they’d probably approach [the draft process] a lot differently. It’s not the end of the world. Now, it’s an uphill battle for him. He’s working week-to-week as a fifth-round pick."

It's interesting that Aikman says his team would approach the draft differently. Perhaps the over-confidence and star power of the Sanders' name was too much for some teams.

All that said, Aikman said it's an uphill battle for Sanders. If he can get through this and earn a starting spot, it will only make him better down the road.

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This article first appeared on Dallas Cowboys on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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