Stephen A. Smith on The Stephen A. Smith Show

Shedeur Sanders falling past the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft was a bit of a surprise. When he got past the second round, it was certainly shocking. But after Sanders was still not picked in the third round, Stephen A. Smith took to social media to share his theory on the matter, which he believes explains the inconceivable slide down draft boards.

The first two days of the draft came and went without Sanders hearing his name called. But what was perhaps most surprising was that some of the names at the quarterback position were called before Sanders.

In Round 2, the New Orleans Saints opted to select Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough over Sanders with the No. 40 overall pick. While Shough was a sleeper in the eyes of many NFL Draft experts, you would be hard-pressed to find too many NFL mock drafts where Shough went ahead of Sanders.

Near the end of Round 3, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel each heard their name called by the Seattle Seahawks and the Cleveland Browns, respectively. While both had success at the collegiate level, most profiles Gabriel as a backup-level quarterback at the NFL level, while Milroe may not even stick at the quarterback position at the NFL level.

Countless media members, including Mel Kiper Jr. on the ESPN broadcast of the draft, were understandably confused by how far Sanders has slipped.

Stephen A. Smith shared those sentiments, taking to social media to share a message that he received shortly after Day 2 of the draft ended, which he agreed with, claiming that NFL front offices are partaking in “Kaepernick-level collusion” against Sanders because of the influence of his father, Deion Sanders.

“Someone just texted me this message, and they are absolutely correct,” wrote Smith in a post on X.  “‘This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion.’ All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”

 

In a follow-up post, Smith tagged Deion Sanders, further claiming that Shedeur is “being kept out” of the NFL like Colin Kaepernick.

“This is a damn disgrace. How in the hell is Shedeur not off the board, not drafted yet,” wrote Smith. “Y’all still think this doesn’t have anything to do with teams hatin on Deion Sanders. This kid is a first rounder. In a different way, this is Kaepernick all over again…. being kept out. A damn disgrace. I don’t care what anyone says!” 

 

Just about everyone with any insight into the NFL Draft is surprised that Sanders is still on the board going into Day 3. However, Smith may be taking things a bit too far regarding some league-wide collusion against Shedeur and Deion Sanders.

Yes, Shedeur Sanders likely has the talent to warrant a selection in the first two days of the draft. But if all the reports about Sanders are accurate regarding how his pre-draft meetings went with NFL front offices, he may simply not have a personality that teams are willing to have as the face of the franchise.

Any team that selects Sanders as a developmental quarterback would then likely have to deal with both Deion Sanders and his avid fans voicing their opinions publicly that Shedeur should start immediately, which could create another set of problems.

Other players with character concerns heard their names called on Day 2. However, whether it’s fair or not, character concerns have historically held more weight at the quarterback position.

The question that front offices around the league have been, and will likely continue to ask themselves heading into Day 3 is whether the reward is worth the potential headache of bringing in Sanders.