NFL Insider: Shedeur Sanders Situation 'Incredibly Similar' to Will Levis' 2023 Slide

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders' potential slide down draft boards was likened to that of Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis, who was considered a potential top-four pick in the 2023 NFL draft before falling out of the first round entirely.

Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic made the comparison in his latest mock draft, which had the New York Jets picking Sanders at No. 28 overall after a trade with the Detroit Lions.

"It’s absolutely possible Sanders falls into the second round — his situation feels incredibly similar to what we saw with Will Levis back in 2023. Teams did not see Levis as a top-15 player, and most didn’t see him as a first-rounder," Baumgardner wrote.

"It only takes one team, of course. Sanders is likely this draft’s best QB after Cam Ward, although the gap between the two is wider than many thought it’d be when the season ended. This scenario, with a team jumping back into the end of Round 1, could be how it plays out."

In 2023, three teams in the top four (the Carolina Panthers at No. 1, the Houston Texans at No. 2 and the Indianapolis Colts at No. 4) had clear quarterback needs. Levis was frequently projected to go in the top four, per the NFL Mock Draft Database, with many having him pegged to Houston or Indianapolis.

He ended up going to another AFC South team, the Titans, at No. 33 overall (the second round's first pick).

Earlier this offseason, Miami's Cam Ward and Sanders were largely seen as a cut above the rest among 2025 draft class quarterbacks. However, the tune has changed recently, with multiple analysts saying it's Ward alone in the first QB tier.

ESPN's Matt Miller said on The Dan Patrick Show that the gap between Ward and Sanders is "sizable."

And The Athletic's Dane Brugler provided this intel on Sanders, who he had going 21st overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in his latest mock.

"Sanders is going to be a wild card in this draft. He could go in the top six or fall out of the first round entirely—and neither outcome would be a shock," Brugler wrote. "He is not a first-round quarterback for a lot of NFL teams, which isn’t a major surprise (and matches my evaluation). But all it takes is one front office to roll the dice on his skill set."

A Sanders slide isn't a consensus, though. Of note, the latest B/R NFL Scouting Department mock draft has the New York Giants trading from No. 3 to No. 1 with the Titans to land Sanders. Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network has Sanders going second to the Cleveland Browns, as another example.

We'll find out soon enough how teams (or at least one team) feels about Sanders, when the NFL draft begins on April 25 in Green Bay.