4 NFL Teams That Will Regret Passing on Shedeur Sanders the Most

We've seen high-profile NFL draft prospects slide before, but Shedeur Sanders' epic tumble over draft weekend felt different.

The Colorado product was viewed—by the media, at least—as one of the top prospects in the 2025 draft class. He was the only quarterback aside from No. 1 overall selection Cam Ward to receive a first-round grade from the Bleacher Report Scouting Department. He ended up being the top quarterback on the final board of ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

Yet, Sanders had to wait until Round 5 to hear his name called. The Cleveland Browns stopped his slide at No. 144—two rounds after they drafted another quarterback in Oregon's Dillon Gabriel.

While there was clearly something about Sanders that teams didn't like, he has the potential to be a quality NFL starter. If he reaches that potential, several teams will regret allowing him to fall to Cleveland on Day 3.

Here, we'll examine the four teams that will regret passing on Sanders the most, and why.

Honorable Mention: New York Giants

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Giants head coach Brian Daboll

The New York Giants used the third overall pick on Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter, and then traded back into Round 1 for a quarterback. However, New York opted for Mississippi's Jaxson Dart over Sanders.

On one hand, the choice made sense. Head coach Brian Daboll first earned the Giants job after working with Josh Allen as the Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator. Sanders is more of a pure precision passer, while Dart's combination of arm strength and athleticism is closer to what Daboll had in Allen—though, certainly a step or two below.

However, the Giants earn an honorable mention here because picking Dart over Sanders could seriously impact the future of Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. The B/R Scouting Department labeled Sanders as the draft's most accurate and most pro-ready quarterback. Dart is more of a project who might not even see the field as a rookie.

The Giants added Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency, and Daboll made it clear that Wilson is expected to be the Week 1 starter.

"Russ will be our starter," Daboll said, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan.

Sanders might have been able to unseat Wilson as the starter during training camp. Dart won't, and with a veteran behind center, Daboll and Schoen may need to see early wins to keep their jobs beyond 2025.

"I’ve just about run out of patience," franchise owner John Mara said in January, per The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll.

Schematically, Dart is a strong fit for Daboll's offense, and he may be the right quarterback, long term, for the Giants. However, Daboll and Schoen will regret not going with the more pro-ready quarterback if a new front office is building around Dart in 2026.

Los Angeles Rams

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Rams head coach Sean McVay

The Los Angeles Rams may or may not have been in the mix for Dart before the Giants traded back into Round 1 to get him. According to OutKick's Armando Salguero, the Rams' decision to trade out of the first round right after New York moved back in "was not a coincidence."

"NFL people believe they expected to take Dart with their pick had the Giants not intervened," Salguero added.

The Rams do eventually need to find a successor to 37-year-old signal-caller Matthew Stafford. While L.A. probably never seriously considered staying put at No. 26 and simply taking Sanders, it may regret not pouncing on Sanders in a later round.

Does Sanders have the physical upside of Dart? No, but he has many of the tools needed to be a successful NFL starter and to thrive in a Sean McVay offense that schemes receivers open.

"Sanders' natural and pure passing abilities are the strength of his game. He is a high-floor prospect with a good ceiling to buy into," Dame Parson of the B/R Scouting Department wrote. "...He has the mental aptitude and accuracy to become a franchise-leading quarterback."

General manager Les Snead could have traded out of Round 1 and still added Sanders in the second, third or fourth round. And while McVay may prefer a quarterback with more high-end physical talent, let's not forget that he went to a Super Bowl with Jared Goff.

As long as Stafford is healthy and playing well, Los Angeles is highly unlikely to end up with a top-10 draft selection, meaning it won't simply stumble into many chances to draft a franchise-caliber quarterback without making a trade.

The Rams could have explored their avenues for finding a high-ceiling signal-caller in the future while having Sanders in their back pocket on a team-friendly rookie deal. They didn't and may find themselves scrambling to find a replacement whenever Stafford decides to call it a career.

New Orleans Saints

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Tyler Shough

Like the Giants, the New Orleans Saints drafted a quarterback other than Sanders early. They used the 40th overall pick on Louisville's Tyler Shough.

The selection made plenty of sense. The future of Derek Carr is in question because he's dealing with a shoulder injury that "threatens" his 2025 season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Shough's combination of size (6'5", 219 lbs), running ability, athleticism and arm talent also fit the type of offense that new head coach Kellen Moore ran as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator last season.

However, Shough suffered multiple injuries during his seven-year, three-program college career, including a broken collarbone and a broken fibula. He also had just one season of truly impressive production, whereas Sanders consistently performed well at both Jackson State and Colorado.

Brent Sobleski of the B/R Scouting Department—who gave the Saints a "D" grade for the Shough selection—believes that drafting Sanders would have been a safer move.

"Passing on Shedeur Sanders for an older, injury-plagued quarterback with only one year of production is a draft travesty," Sobleski wrote.

Even if New Orleans believes that Shough is a decidedly better fit than Sanders, the Saints had the opportunity to take both quarterbacks without investing heavily in either player. Throwing two darts at a major long-term need—Carr looms as a likely 2026 cap casualty even if he's healthy this season—would hardly be the worst idea.

Remember how things turned out when the Washington Commanders drafted Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins in the same class? Yes, drafting Shough and Sanders would have meant parting with Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler, but neither will have the trade value that Sanders could carry if Shough proves to be all New Orleans hopes.

And while Shough might have the upside to be a legitimate star in the NFL, his age, limited production and injury history make him a massive risk. If he doesn't pan out, the Saints may regret not having the high-floor Sanders as a Plan B.

Las Vegas Raiders

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Pete Carroll and Ashton Jeanty

The Las Vegas Raiders didn't need to chase a quarterback early in the draft. They traded for Geno Smith early in the offseason and recently signed him to a two-year, $75 million extension.

Given Smith's history with new head coach Pete Carroll, he'll likely remain the starter for the foreseeable future. However, Smith will turn 35 in October, and the Raiders should be interested in developing a signal-caller for the future.

To be fair, Las Vegas did take a sixth-round flier on North Dakota State's Cam Miller, and they still have Aidan O'Connell under contract for two more seasons. Yet, Sanders was there for the taking and would have made sense for several reasons.

For one, his ability to read a defense and deliver an accurate ball, even under pressure, would have meshed well with pass-catchers like Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers and rookie second-round pick Jack Bech—not to mention new offensive centerpiece and first-round pick Ashton Jeanty.

Sanders is an elite distributor of the football, and the Raiders suddenly find themselves with a very potent skill group.

Secondly, Sanders already had an established relationship with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. Las Vegas might have been better equipped than any other team to nurture Sanders and ensure he succeeds as a pro.

Now, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel, several teams didn't view Sanders as a "first-round talent and a first-round player."

Las Vegas might have been one of those teams. However, the Raiders had multiple opportunities after drafting Jeanty and Bech and before Cleveland stopped the slide to add Sanders as Smith's understudy. They didn't, and in a year or two, they may regret it in a big way.

Pittsburgh Steelers

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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin

It's looking like the Pittsburgh Steelers may end up with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers after all.

"That’s certainly a possibility,” head coach Mike Tomlin told NFL Network (h/t ProFootballTalk's Josh Alper. “I’m not going to forecast the ifs and whens regarding not only him, but any other potential free agent. We’ve had really productive talks with him."

That's great, but a 41-year-old Rodgers isn't going to be Pittsburgh's long-term answer at quarterback. Neither is Mason Rudolph, the team's likeliest 2025 alternative. Rookie sixth-round pick Will Howard might have an opportunity to be Pittsburgh's QB of the future, but Sanders was widely considered a far safer prospect than his Ohio State counterpart.

The B/R Scouting Department ranked Sanders as its 23rd overall prospect, Howard as its 74th. Even if the Steelers didn't like the Colorado product enough to draft him at No. 21, they could have taken Sanders in the third or fourth round before seeing him go to a division rival—Pittsburgh's second-round pick went to the Seattle Seahawks in the DK Metcalf trade.

Here's why the Steelers should regret passing on Sanders. They're continually playoff-relevant under Tomlin and are likely to be a nine-to-11-win team again in 2025. That's going to put them outside of the range of a top-tier QB prospect, barring a trade, meaning Pittsburgh will probably be right back in this position a year from now.

Maybe the Steelers didn't have a first-round grade on Sanders. So what? Few seemed to have a first-round grade on Kenny Pickett in 2022, but Pittsburgh used a first-round pick on him then. Sanders was a superior prospect, and the Steelers could have gotten him for far less.

Given Pittsburgh's post-draft options, passing on Sanders already looks like a mistake.

"Aaron Rogers isn’t worth the wait. Kirk Cousins isn’t worth the contract. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders was right there for the taking, yet Pittsburgh passed on him again," Sobleski wrote while grading the Steelers' third-round selection of running back Kaleb Johnson. "Pittsburgh's arrogance to believe it can win no matter who's behind center is laughable at best."

Maybe Howard surprises and eventually works his way into a starting role—his size (6'4", 237 lbs) and athleticism do fit the Steelers mold—but Pittsburgh could have had both.

Nothing could pain the Steelers more than seeing the lowly Browns have a better quarterback situation. That's a reality Pittsburgh could come to regret if Sanders is indeed the above-average starter many believed he could be before his draft slide shocked virtually the entire football world.