Shedeur Sanders' Fall and the Most Shocking Moments in NFL Draft History

Every year, experts talk to scouts and team personnel, pore over film and dissect everything about an NFL draft prospect's profile. We live in a golden age of information, and as fans we have no shortage of it at our disposal.

And yet, the beauty of the draft is that no matter how prepared we might feel, it always carries the possibility of featuring shocking picks and moments that no one saw coming.

Here we'll take a look at some of the biggest, most memorable shockers in NFL draft history, with a concentration on picks that were surprising or head-turning at the time—not in hindsight.

While many could look now and be shocked that Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick or that the Chicago Bears traded up to take Mitchell Trubisky and not Patrick Mahomes, those picks won't be featured here. At the time, those kinds of picks were entirely defensible and not totally unforeseen.

We're looking for players who either got picked sooner than expected, later than expected, landed with the supposed wrong team, etc. We'll also include surprising trades, a viral gas mask moment and one team that memorably straight up missed its pick.

Since the draft is usually full of surprises, it's likely that one of your favorite moments didn't make this list. If that's the case, share your shocking draft memories in the comments.

1973: Punter Ray Guy Goes in 1st Round

AP

This story has a happy ending, as Ray Guy became one of the greatest punters to ever play in the NFL, ultimately becoming the first (and only) punter to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But taking a punter in the first round of the draft?! That's ludicrous. It was as shocking then as it would be now.

It's not like the game was so different back in 1973 in a way that taking a punter in the first round represented a normal or foreseeable choice for the Oakland Raiders. In fact, Guy is still the only pure punter in the history of the NFL to be selected in the first round of the draft.

Again, drafting a Hall of Famer with the 23rd overall pick is never a bad idea, but when it's a punter? That's shocking.

1979, 2000: Another Pair of 1st-Round Kickers

AP Photo/Joe Mahoney

This will be the only selection that includes two players, and it'll also be the last that features players who predominantly spent their time kicking the ball.

But like Ray Guy, these kickers getting taken in the first round of the NFL draft remains an unexpected anomaly.

Russell Erxleben was the bigger shock, as he was taken by the New Orleans Saints with the 11th pick of the first round. The Saints had never had a winning season in their 12-year history when they picked Erxleben, and he definitely wasn't the missing piece as he lasted only five years with the team.

Sebastian Janikowski enjoyed a much more successful career, but going 17th overall to the Oakland Raiders in 2000 was no less shocking. Not only was Janikowski the first kicker since Erxleben to be picked in the first round, but the Raiders also took him despite his history of arrests that mostly centered around underage drinking and getting into bar fights during his time at Florida State.

1983: False Rumors Drop Marino’s Stock

AP Photo/Dave Pickoff

The NFL and sports media in general didn't have the same massive footprint in 1983 as they do today. But if they did, the talking heads and Twitterverse would have had a field day with Dan Marino's situation that year.

Despite a strong final season at Pitt—though it wasn't as good as his junior season—Marino slipped down to the Miami Dolphins at the 27th pick in the first round as the sixth quarterback off the board. With two fellow future Hall of Fame QBs ahead of him (John Elway and Jim Kelly), some of that drop is understandable.

However, Marino's slide became something of an urban legend around the league, as rumors of drug use and a party lifestyle were considered to be part of Marino's drop. At least one team—the crosstown Pittsburgh Steelers—later admitted to passing on Marino because of those rumors, and a clean drug test from his senior season at Pitt wasn't made public until well after the draft.

It was a surprising, dramatic slide at the time, and a handful of teams likely ended up kicking themselves after seeing the player Marino became.

1986: Bucs Fumble the Bag on Bo

AP Photo/Richard Drew

No, there was nothing surprising about Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson being the No. 1 overall pick in 1986. It would have made sense for any team in the league to draft him...well, except the one that actually did.

In short, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fumbled the bag.

After flying him to Tampa in a move that prematurely ended Jackson's college baseball eligibility—and infuriated the two-sport star—and dismissing Jackson's willingness to actually spurn football for baseball, the Bucs went into the draft with a Bo-or-bust mentality. He was their guy, and surely he'd see reason and dollar signs enough to stick with football.

But they didn't know Bo. Jackson ultimately turned down Tampa Bay's offer and opted to play baseball after being drafted by the Kansas City Royals. While Jackson's final decision came after the draft itself, the Buccaneers' willingness to bet the franchise on a player who they weren't sure would play for them—or even play their sport—is what makes this pick one of the most shocking in draft history.

1992: Broncos Tab False Heir in Maddox

AP Photo/Reed Saxon

When your team has John Elway in his prime, is coming off an AFC Championship Game appearance and owns the 25th overall pick in the NFL draft with which to add weapons, you know what you should do? Definitely draft another quarterback.

Wait...what?!

Yes, that's exactly what the Denver Broncos did in 1992, as head coach Dan Reeves—who clearly and famously didn't see eye to eye with Elway—wanted UCLA sophomore Tommy Maddox to be Elway's heir. It was a surprising move at the time and it certainly didn't work out, as Maddox started just four games in two years before being traded.

Reeves didn't last as long as Maddox did, as he was fired at the conclusion of the 1992 season.

1999: Eagles Fans Boo McNabb Pick

AP Photo/Miles Kennedy

By the time it was their turn to make the No. 2 pick in the 1999 NFL draft, it was fairly clear the Philadelphia Eagles were going to take quarterback Donovan McNabb. In that way, this pick isn't all that surprising, especially since McNabb was considered to be among the top QBs available and the Eagles badly needed a signal-caller.

What made this pick shocking, though, was the reaction of Eagles fans inside Madison Square Garden. At the time, many Eagles fans wanted the team to draft Heisman winner Ricky Williams (more on him later), and they certainly made their voices heard.

When McNabb was announced as the team's pick, Eagles fans at the Garden booed loudly, which likely caught a lot of other fans by surprise since, again, McNabb wasn't an unreasonable pick. That strong response is what makes this pick both memorable and shocking.

1999: The Ricky Williams Trade

AP Photo/Judi Bottoni

Heisman winner Ricky Williams going at No. 5? Not shocking in the slightest.

What was and remains shocking, though, is the price head coach Mike Ditka and the New Orleans Saints were willing to pay to get him.

Ditka had been fixated on Williams for months and had publicly stated Williams was worth all of the Saints' draft picks. In most cases, that would just be considered blustering, but New Orleans actually did that.

To move up from 12th to fifth, the Saints traded all of their 1999 draft picks (a first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh) along with their first- and third-round picks for 2000 to Washington. It was a huge bet and the kind of big draft swing that just doesn't happen, which made it all the more difficult to believe.

The marriage between Williams and the Saints didn't work out as well as either side would have hoped, but it did succeed in giving us a truly wild draft trade.

2003: Vikings Pass on Their Pick…Twice

AP Photo/Genevieve Ross

For as much as we try to complicate it, the NFL draft is fairly simple—each team takes its allotted time to decide on a selection, they submit the pick before the time runs out and then the pick is announced. Easy, right?

Well, in 2003 the Minnesota Vikings had their 15 minutes on the clock with the No. 7 pick, and they didn't make the pick. They passed once, allowing the Jacksonville Jaguars to take quarterback Byron Leftwich and then again, watching as the Carolina Panthers took tackle Jordan Gross.

All the while, the ESPN broadcast crew were trying to make sense of the situation, as Chris Berman repeatedly shouted, "They passed!"

The Vikings ultimately selected defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who was their main target all along. It came out years later that the team had been instructed by ownership to trade down with the goal of still getting Williams later and at a lower price along with possible additional draft compensation.

The optics might have been shockingly and memorably awful, but at least Minnesota got its guy.

2003: Bills Reach on McGahee

AP Photo/SCott Audette

Heading into the 2003 NFL draft, no one was entirely certain if and when Willis McGahee would play football again. After a gruesome injury in the Fiesta Bowl that resulted in a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, McGahee saw his draft stock understandably tumble.

Instead of being in the mix as a top-five pick, McGahee was expected to maybe slot in somewhere on Day 2.

The Buffalo Bills, though, had other plans, as they opted to take McGahee at No. 23. What made the Bills' decision even more surprising was that another Heisman finalist running back, Larry Johnson, was still on the board.

It was a shocking pick and a high price to pay for a back who ultimately wouldn't see the field until 2004 (though he did end up having a solid 10-year career).

2005: Rodgers’ 1st-Round Fall

AP Photo/Mike Roemer

The story of Aaron Rodgers' experience at the 2005 NFL draft is something of a cringey legend at this point.

Billed as one of the top two quarterbacks and potentially a top-10 pick, Rodgers waited for his name to be called in the green room at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. He waited, and he waited more.

All the while, teams opted not to select a quarterback after the San Francisco 49ers took Alex Smith at No. 1. And while the names kept getting called, the ESPN telecast kept showing Rodgers and wondering when he would come off the board, and which team would take him.

Rodgers' slide was painful and somewhat surprising to watch, but what takes this pick to the next level as a shocker is that it was the Green Bay Packers—a playoff team that still had 35-year-old Brett Favre under center and ostensibly didn't have an immediate need for Rodgers—that took him at No. 24.

The drama—and Rodgers' own legendary career in Green Bay—only took off from there.

2005: Clarett Sues NFL, Drafted in 3rd Round

AP Photo/Amy Sancetta

Two years after being dismissed from the Ohio State football program and one year after unsuccessfully suing the NFL for the right to be included in the 2004 NFL draft, Maurice Clarett finally got his chance to join the NFL in 2005.

There was no telling how teams would value the running back based on his extended time off the gridiron and unprecedented path to the NFL. His one year at Ohio State had shown flashes of enough promise to perk up interest, though his 4.72 and 4.82 40-yard times at the combine didn't inspire much confidence.

Shockingly, Clarett was scooped up by the Denver Broncos with the final pick of the third round. The Broncos' decision was even more surprising given they already had a formidable stable of running backs that included Mike Anderson, Tatum Bell and Ron Dayne.

What makes this decision even more mind-boggling is that Clarett was released by the Broncos in August 2005 before logging a single snap in a preseason game, and he wasn't picked up by anyone else.

2006: Mario Williams Goes No. 1 over Bush, Young

AP Photo/David J. Phillip

USC running back Reggie Bush and Texas quarterback Vince Young were two of the brightest stars in a memorable 2005 college football season that ended with the two going head-to-head in overtime at the Rose Bowl.

Mario Williams, meanwhile, was a highly successful sack artist and a third-team All-American on a middling NC State team that didn't factor much on the national scale.

One of these things is not like the others.

With the 2-14 Houston Texans holding the No. 1 after four unsuccessful years with David Carr under center, many expected they take one of the electrifying options in Bush or Young to revitalize the offense. But as the draft got closer, it became clear the Texans were leaning toward Williams over both Bush—the Heisman winner— and even over Young, the national-champion Longhorns star and Houston native.

Williams ultimately made four All-Pro teams (two with Houston), but taking him over two of the highest-wattage college stars over the past quarter century still registers as a shocker.

2009: Raiders Make Heyward-Bey the 1st WR off the Board

AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

The Oakland Raiders owned the No. 7 pick in the 2009 draft, and they wanted a receiver. When they got on the clock, every receiver was still on the board, meaning they had the opportunity to take the top receiver in the class.

Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were two of college football's biggest star receivers of the past year, and within six weeks of the draft both were expected to be top-10 picks. Percy Harvin had been a major weapon at Florida and was expected to come off the board soon after.

With all three of those players at their disposal, the Raiders instead opted for Darrius Heyward-Bey, a speedy receiver from Maryland who had accrued 1,958 yards and 13 touchdowns over three years with the Terps. For comparison's sake, Crabtree had 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns in his first year alone at Texas Tech.

Heyward-Bey was a legitimate first-round talent, but the No. 1 receiver off the board and a top-seven pick?! That was a stunner.

2010: Broncos Trade Up to Take Tebow in 1st Round

AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

Tim Tebow did it all during his four years at Florida. He led the Gators to two national titles, won the Heisman and racked up tons of numbers as a dual-threat quarterback. Still, teams weren't all that high on him heading into the 2010 draft, as there was no guarantee he'd be selected on Day 1, and some thought he wouldn't go until the third round.

Lucky for Tebow, there was one team that really liked him.

Despite his struggles as a passer, the Denver Broncos opted to take Tebow off the board with the 25th overall pick. In fact, head coach Josh McDaniels and the Broncos didn't just take Tebow with that pick, but they also traded their second-, third- and fourth-round picks to the Baltimore Ravens so they could move up to get Tebow.

Tebow was certainly a lightning rod in Denver and provided a glorious overtime touchdown pass during the playoffs in 2011, but it was still shocking that a team both took him in the first round and gave up picks to do it.

2012: Browns Tab 28-Year-Old Weeden in 1st

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Brandon Weeden ended his Oklahoma State career on a high note by outdueling future No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck and Stanford in a 41-38 win in the Fiesta Bowl. In that game, Weeden threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns while also running for a touchdown.

Weeden's senior season (4,727 yards, 37 touchdowns) put him squarely on the radar of numerous quarterback-needy NFL teams, but one key attribute may have held him back in the eyes of some scouts and draft prognosticators. At the time of the 2012 NFL draft, he would already be 28 years old after starting his college football career late after pursuing a baseball career.

For reference, he's older than Aaron Rodgers, who was drafted seven years earlier.

Heading into the draft, he wasn't in the first-round mock drafts at Bleacher Report or ESPN, and he wasn't in Yahoo's top 50 prospects. And yet, the Cleveland Browns surprisingly opted to make Weeden the oldest player ever drafted in the first round by taking him with the 22nd overall pick.

Luckily for Weeden, Cleveland's 2012 draft is mostly known for the disastrous pick of Trent Richardson at No. 3 and not remembered for the Browns reaching to select Weeden and only getting 20 forgettable starts out of him.

2016: Tunsil’s Bong Video Leaked

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

The 2016 NFL draft dove deep into shocking territory before any picks were even announced. Minutes before the event began, a video was posted on Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil's Twitter account showing him—a presumptive top-10, maybe top-five pick—smoking marijuana while wearing a gas mask. The video was quickly deleted, but the damage had been done.

Immediately, internet sleuths tried to determine if the video was real (it was), and the broadcast turned its focus to Tunsil. Over the course of a surreal hour-plus, the question became who would pick Tunsil after seeing that unfortunately timed leaked video.

Eventually, Tunsil's slide stopped when he was picked by the Miami Dolphins at No. 13 as the third offensive tackle off the board.

"Man, it was a mistake," Tunsil said at that time. "You know, it happened years ago. Like I said before, somebody hacked my Twitter account. That's how it got on there, man. It's just a crazy world—things happen for a reason."

Tunsil's viral video remains an iconic (albeit somewhat unfortunate) part of draft-day lore and stands out as one of the first viral NFL draft moments.

2018: Bills Trade Up Twice for Allen

AP Foto/Adrian Kraus

There were four quarterbacks in the 2018 class who were expected to be high-end picks—Baker Mayfield (who ultimately went No. 1), Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen (there was also some guy named Lamar Jackson).

Allen, who played his college ball largely out of the public eye at Wyoming, had intriguing arm strength and athleticism, but he seemed like a high-risk, high-reward guy to some.

The Buffalo Bills were willing to take that risk. Their pick of Allen wasn't in itself shocking, but their path to getting him was. After entering the draft picking outside the top 20, the Bills moved up to No. 12 by sending the 21st pick and tackle Cordy Glenn to Cincinnati. They then springboarded up to No. 7 by sending the 12th pick and two second-rounders to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where they passed on Rosen to take Allen.

It was a bold and surprising move, but it's undeniably been one that worked out for Buffalo.

2020: Packers Take Love in 1st Round with Rodgers in Tow

AP Photo/Morry Gash

Remember in 2005 when the Green Bay Packers drafted quarterback Aaron Rodgers despite being a title contender with an established and still successful quarterback under center in Brett Favre?

Well, the 2020 draft was pretty much the same story, except this time Rodgers was the incumbent quarterback and Jordan Love was heir apparent.

Like Rodgers, Love didn't totally come out of left field. Rodgers was 36 at the time and wasn't going to play forever. Love was an option that would be available late in the first round when the Packers were slated to draft.

However, the fact that the Packers did the same thing as the last time they made a quarterback change—and they traded up to do it without consulting Rodgers—made Love's selection quite a stunner. There was also a push among fans for the Packers to pick a running back or wide receiver in the first round to support Rodgers, something the team hadn't done at all during Rodgers' tenure.

After losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, many thought the Packers would reload for another true push at a Super Bowl. Taking Love in a future-focused move definitely flew in the face of those expectations.

2022: Patriots Reach on Cole Strange

Winslow Townson/AP Images for Panini

The idea of Chattanooga offensive guard Cole Strange getting drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft was so outlandish that even he didn't believe it. In fact, he thought he was being pranked when the New England Patriots called him to tell him they were taking him 29th overall.

According to Strange's father, "[Cole] said, 'Sir, I don't mean to be disrespectful at all, but I've gotta know because I've got some crazy friends. Is this a prank?' The guy said, 'Hold on just a second.' And then Bill Belichick got on the phone and of course, unless you've been under a rock for the last 20 years, you know Bill Belichick's voice."

Strange wasn't the only one who was surprised. Most draft prognosticators had Strange squarely in the third round, with Bleacher Report ranking him as the No. 98 prospect in the class. Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay had his own viral response to the pick.

"How 'bout that!" he said laughing. "And we wasted our time watching him thinking he'd be at 104 maybe."

2024: Falcons Draft Penix Just After Paying Cousins

FR171492 AP

The Atlanta Falcons seemed to be in great position going into the 2024 draft. In the weeks leading up to the draft, they had signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a $180 million contract, bringing in an established signal-caller to pilot their offense filled with young talents.

With quarterback wrapped up and the No. 8 pick in the draft, Atlanta could bolster its defense, its line or add yet another player to put around Cousins. So what did the Falcons do?

They drafted Michael Penix Jr.—another quarterback, of course. It was a move so unexpected that PFF's Sam Monson called it "one of the most shocking draft picks in NFL history."

Penix, who had led Washington to the College Football Playoff title game, was largely considered to be a first-round talent, though consensus mock drafts had him toward the bottom of the first round. It was a bit surprising that he moved into the top 10 as the fourth quarterback selected, but landing with the Falcons was truly a shocker.

Any team investing that much money in a new starting quarterback and then immediately spending a top-10 pick on its quarterback of the future is certainly going to draw some attention. Though, to be fair, it's not like that kind of thing ever happens or is expected to happen again anytime soon.

2025: Shedeur Sanders Slides to the 5th Round and Gets Prank Called, Too

AP

If someone told you before the 2025 NFL draft that Cleveland Browns were going to pick Shedeur Sanders, you probably would guess that the Browns were planning to take him at No. 2 overall.

And that guess would be entirely reasonable. During the predraft process, Sanders was widely considered to be QB2 behind Cam Ward and certainly a player worthy of a first-round pick.

Well, not only did Sanders not go No. 2—either overall or in terms of quarterbacks—but he also didn't get selected in the first two days of the draft. Sanders had to wait through the whole fourth round on Day 3 before hearing his name called at pick No. 6 of the fifth round—No. 144 overall. Sanders was the sixth quarterback taken in the draft and the second drafted by Cleveland, which picked Oregon's Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

To make Sanders' historic slide even worse, the former Colorado quarterback was the victim of a prank call on Friday night. The call, which went viral during the second night of the draft, involved the prankster calling Sanders while pretending to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and indicating the team was planning to draft him.

The prank was later revealed to be the work of Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Per a statement by the Falcons, the younger Ulbrich unknowingly came across the contact number for Sanders' NFL-supplied draft phone and independently decided to do the prank call. Jax released a public apology on Sunday and also apologized directly to Sanders.

While the Sanders family has never had a hard time capturing public attention, Shedeur's long wait at the draft and Ulbrich's prank call made for an even more dramatic weekend than anyone could have expected.