No one knows where Shedeur Sanders will land in the 2025 NFL Draft, but draft analyst Todd McShay projects the Colorado quarterback won’t be the second signal-caller selected after Miami’s Cam Ward.
In his latest mock draft for The Ringer, McShay pegged Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart as the second quarterback taken in the first round by the Saints, who own the No. 9 pick, as covered by USA Today.
Dart, whose draft stock has risen in recent months, has “qualities” similar to the quarterbacks that new Saints coach Kellen Moore has worked with previously and thrived, such as the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and newly minted Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts of the Eagles.
“He is used to the bigger, mobile, stronger-armed quarterback, and those are three qualities that Jaxson Dart has,” McShay said of the 6-foot-2 prospect Thursday on his self-тιтled podcast.
“It doesn’t necessarily make Jaxson Dart better than Shedeur, in some places, Shedeur fits better.”
In the lead-up to this month’s NFL draft, Ward has been projected to land with the тιтans with the No. 1 overall pick in countless mock drafts while Sanders, 23, has been linked to the teams with top picks — the Browns at No. 2 and the Giants at No. 3 — and has also been speculated to slide.
Although Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, isn’t the second quarterback taken on his board, McShay believes the prospect does go in the first round via a Browns trade with the Falcons at pick No. 15.
“[Browns coach] Kevin Stefanski, I think, would have an awesome time with Shedeur Sanders cause Kevin’s won with those guys,” McShay said. “Kevin’s used to fast processors, precision, play on time, I’ll get you on time, I know you can do that, and I don’t need that huge arm, I don’t need mobility, I like guys who are going to [whiff, whiff, whiff] carve people up.”
McShay’s mock was posted the same day Sanders visited the Steelers, who hold pick No. 21 and remain in the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes.
“I enjoyed my time here in Pittsburgh. I think I connected well with all the coaches and it was real fun,” said Sanders, who ranked the visit as a “10.”
The Steelers could very much emerge as a landing spot for Sanders following Friday’s development out of Cleveland, with the Browns signing veteran Joe Flacco to a one-year deal.
With that move, the Browns — who also have quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and the injured Deshaun Watson on their roster — could pivot from the QB position with the No. 2 pick to two-way star Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy-winning receiver and cornerback out of Colorado, or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.
If the Browns have enough conviction for Sanders, though, a trade back into the first round could be on the table if he’s still available.
The 2025 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 24, in Green Bay.
