Shedeur Sanders went into the 2025 NFL Draft with everyone expecting him to be a first-round pick, including some who thought the New York Giants would trade up late in Round 1 to get him. However, a private meeting with the Giants reportedly captured a disastrous pre-draft process.
NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay of The Ringer shared on The McShay Show that Sanders allegedly had a bad meeting with New York. He was allegedly unprepared for an install with Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll and when he was called on it, he got into it with Daboll.
“Shedeur didn’t have a great interview with Brian Daboll in a private visit. An install package came in. Preparation wasn’t there for it. Got called out on it. Didn’t like that. Brian didn’t appreciate him not liking it.”
Related: Shedeur Sanders, Quinn Ewers cost themselves millions with NFL Draft decisions
- Shedeur Sanders stats (ESPN): 4,134 passing yards, 37-10 TD-INT, 74% completion rate, 8.7 yards per attempt, 168.2 QB rating, 4 rushing touchdowns
During the quarterback’s slide during the 2025 NFL Draft, reports emerged about team executives finding him arrogant and even dismissive of criticism. Because he didn’t participate in the NFL Scouting Combine, private interviews were critical to show teams that he could be a mature leader of an NFL franchise.
Instead, as Yahoo Sports senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson shared on Sunday’s Inside Coverage podcast, Sanders “rubbed teams the wrong way” and left an unfavorable impression on several executives and coaches.
Related: Why Shedeur Sanders slipped in the 2025 NFL Draft
As a result, a player whom the majority of teams expected to be taken in Round 1 because of the desperation for stable quarterback play fell to Round 5. It cost him tens of millions of dollars in the process on his rookie contract and leaves an outside shot of him not making the Browns roster in Week 1.