2025 NFL Draft: Pete Thamel reveals factors behind Shedeur Sanders fall past 2nd round, names potential landing spots

A year ago, Shedeur Sanders was seen as a potential top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, he fell out of not just the first round, but also the second – and ESPN’s Pete Thamel shared the factors behind that drop.

Sanders’ fall past the first round was a surprise, but he also didn’t go in the second round. That meant Round 3 was a possible landing spot, with No. 83 overall as a “logical point” to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Thamel said.

As for reasons behind Sanders’ drop down the board, Thamel cited both capital and the fact the 2026 quarterback class features high-caliber QBs. That’s why he said teams could be opting to roll with bridge players before landing a more talented rookie next year.

“A couple conversations came up I found interesting,” Thamel said of teams with which he spoke. “One is, teams at this point in the draft when they’re drafting a quarterback are looking at that quarterback as a backup. So the question becomes a philosophical one – how much draft capital do you use on a backup? Remember, we didn’t have a quarterback go in the second, third or fourth round. There was a 138-pick gap.

“Now, why did a team like the Browns, Rece, pass on taking a quarterback this year? They’re going to roll with Joe Flacco. I think a lot of that has to do, from talking with some teams the past two days, with the quarterback crop we’re going to see in 2026. It’s going to be exponentially better and deeper than the one we have now.”

The 2026 NFL Draft class features plenty of notable quarterbacks who either returned to college for one more year or will be eligible for the first time. That group includes Drew Allar from Penn State, as well as Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, among others. While Arch Manning will be draft-eligible, Thamel pointed out he’s likely to be at Texas for four years and instead declare in 2027.

Still, with those big names, teams could be waiting until next year to try and land a franchise quarterback. That, he said, also could factor into Shedeur Sanders’ slide down the board.

“So if you’re the Browns and you can get an extra pick, you get an extra shot at a high-end quarterback,” Thamel said. “You’ve got like a Drew Allar there. You have Cade Klubnik, you have Garrett Nussmeier. You have the potential – but certainly not the guarantee – that Arch Manning could come out. He is then draft-eligible. There’s other guys like Carson Beck, there’s John Mateer. Sam Leavitt at Arizona State profiles as a good prospect.

“Generally speaking, Rece, we’re going to have a much deeper quarterback draft in 2026. You can tell some teams are saving their draft capital, that gunpowder, for next year.”