NFL Exec Says Shedeur Sanders Refused Interview, Cited Team's Depth Chart, Draft Pick

The picture being painted of Shedeur Sanders' predraft process is coming into focus and explains why he remained on the board until the fifth round when he was initially regarded as a borderline first-round talent.

One executive for an NFC team told USA Today's Jarrett Bell that Sanders refused an interview with the club at the scouting combine.

The executive noted Sanders told a scout for the team "you've already got a quarterback and you’re not picking in the top five."

A common refrain even before the draft started was that teams were turned off by Sanders' approach throughout the evaluation process.

The Ringer's Todd McShay noted on April 23, one day before the start of the draft, that Sanders was a "no-go" for New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll.

Albert Breer of The MMQB explained during a May 1 appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand (starts at 3:15 mark) that Sanders "didn't catch" the mistake plays that Giants officials included in his install package and "was pissed" when they called him on it.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini noted Sanders went through the process "as a recruiting trip versus a job interview."

All of these things coalesced to result in Sanders, who was being projected as a first-round pick on the day the draft began, falling to the fifth round when the Cleveland Browns ended his slide by trading up to take him at pick No. 144.

It's not uncommon for the top prospects in a draft to limit their team visits if they know there's a floor to where they will be selected. For instance, Miami quarterback Cam Ward took only three top-30 visits, with the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 being the only team not picking in the top five to meet with him.

Abdul Carter's top-30 visits were with the Tennessee Titans (No. 1 overall), Cleveland Browns (No. 2), Giants (No. 3) and New England Patriots (No. 4).

Sanders may have thought—either on his own or in conjunction with his camp—that he could handle the predraft process in the same way. That turned out not to be the case with one of the most dramatic draft slides for any marquee prospect in history.