Shedeur Sanders is in back-up territory now

For months, Shedeur Sanders was touted as a top-two quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL draft class and expected to be a top-two pick at best and a first-rounder at worst. However, not only did teams pass on him in the first round, but he also found no suitors on Day 2 either.

The former Colorado Buffaloes star is now the highest-rated prospect available on Day 3. While there’s still hope that teams looking to add to their quarterback depth chart will pick in one of the remaining three rounds, former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel believes he likely wouldn’t get to start in his rookie year. In a video posted on his X account, the retired signal-caller said:

“Never did I think that [Shedeur] would be the fifth, sixth, seventh quarterback taken in the draft. It’s wild. But he’s in backup territory now. And that is the most interesting thing to me.”

However, Daniel believes that teams eyeing a backup quarterback may be apprehensive about picking Sanders over the other options available due to the attention drafting the 23-year-old would bring. He added:

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“When the team is drafting or signing a backup quarterback, the #1 thing that a backup quarterback needs to do is he needs to help the starter in any way possible. Can Shedeur do that? Is Shedeur willing to do that?… The other thing is Shedeur’s gonna wanna start… But with that comes a media storm around you and what team is willing to take on that?”

Daniel noted that some teams do not prioritize developing their backup quarterback and only use them as a scout to help their defense prepare, which wouldn’t be ideal for Sanders.