One of the biggest storylines from the 2025 NFL Draft was the unexpected fall of a player once projected to be among the top picks. Many mock drafts had Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders pegged as a top-10 selection. Few, if any, foresaw his dramatic slide.
Fans watched round after round, wondering when Sanders, son of Hall of Fame cornerback and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, would finally hear his name called. Reports soon surfaced that several teams had removed Sanders from their draft boards after poor pre-draft interviews. Teams were reportedly turned off by the young player's attitude.
Finally, in the fifth round, the Cleveland Browns ended Sanders' fall, selecting him with the 144th overall pick—after five other quarterbacks had already been taken, including Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, whom the Browns selected earlier.
Sanders' fall has largely been framed as a lesson in humility. However, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch expressed empathy for the young quarterback.
The 49ers also selected a quarterback, though not until the seventh round, adding Indiana's Kurtis Rourke to a quarterback room that already includes Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, and Tanner Mordecai.
When asked if the 49ers had considered Sanders as he remained available late into the draft, Lynch avoided giving a direct answer. Instead, he offered some candid thoughts on how Sanders' situation played out.
"I think more than anything, just empathy," Lynch said on Saturday. "That's tough for a young man. But I know that he's a competitor. I know that he's got his opportunity now, and I think we tell people all the time, it's not when you go, it's not where you go, it's what you do with that opportunity."
As Sanders continued to fall, teams had to assess him more as a potential backup quarterback than a starter, considering how he would fit into their locker rooms, especially given the red flags that contributed to his drop.
"He's got that opportunity in Cleveland, and I'm excited for him," Lynch added. "I remember seeing him down at Jackson State, his true freshman year, and really enjoying getting to know the kid.
"A lot of things are said about him, but now he gets to go prove that he's worthy of that pick by the Browns, and we wish him nothing but the best."