Shedeur Sanders Projected as 'Average' Starting QB by NFL Exec Ahead of 2025 Draft

Amid all the uncertainty about Shedeur Sanders' stock in the 2025 NFL draft, his talent level and upside is proving to be a big sticking point for teams.

One team executive told ESPN's Jordan Raanan that Sanders projects as an "average" starting quarterback in the NFL.

Sanders, no matter where he ends up being drafted, is almost certainly going to be the biggest story of the first round. It's looking more likely that he falls out of the top 10, possibly even the top 20.

The New Orleans Saints, who seem likely to address the quarterback spot at some point given Derek Carr's shoulder injury, don't seem all that interested in Sanders with the No. 9 pick.

Teams will tell you how they feel about a quarterback based on where he's drafted. We've seen plenty of players go higher than expected simply because they play that position.

But more recently, there has been some evidence teams don't want to reach for someone they don't think can be a quality starter.

We aren't that far removed from Malik Willis and Will Levis being thought of as first-round picks only for them to fall out of the first round. Willis actually wound up going in the third round of the 2022 draft.

Sanders could end up going closer to where scouts view his talent, as opposed to being forced up the board by virtue of being a quarterback.

B/R's NFL scouting department has Sanders ranked as the No. 23 overall prospect in the 2025 class. His pro comparison from B/R scout Dame Parson is Geno Smith "with less arm talent."

Sanders is more accomplished coming out of college than Willis or Levis, so it could bump him into the first round. He threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, led FBS with a 74.0 completion percentage and finished eighth in Heisman voting last season.

It is unusual given how many quarterback-needy teams there are entering the draft to think a player with Sanders' resume and star power might not be picked very high, but the questions about his upside make it seem like a very real possibility.