NFL Insiders Reportedly Feel Shedeur Sanders Needed an Agent to Prevent Draft Slide

There is still some speculation over what caused Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders' slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, and some feel that he could've benefited from having an experienced NFL agent.

During Tuesday's episode of Scoop City (12:00 mark), The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that Sanders' lack of proper representation hindered his ability to navigate the pre-draft process the right way.

"I did have a team share with me this morning that they wondered as an organization if Shedeur had an NFL agent with experience with a top quarterback entering the draft, if that agent would've provided maybe a little bit more insight into the preparation, into the process over the three months leading into the draft after their season, that way those interviews go well," Russini said.

Rather than hiring a traditional NFL agent, Sanders was guided by his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, throughout the lead-up to this year's draft. Multiple reports revealed that the 23-year-old rubbed teams the wrong way during his interviews due to his overconfidence, which is something that could've been rectified if he had an agent who could've prepared him to approach things differently.

"I'm not blaming Deion, we know of a lot of players who don't have agents. But I think in this situation, I think it could've helped him have a voice of someone who's done this before more recently," Russini said.