Shedeur Sanders addresses his relationship with Tom Brady amid interest from Las Vegas Raiders

Shedeur Sanders and Tom Brady have a very public relationship; could that result in the former Colorado quarterback ending up with the Las Vegas Raiders in April’s NFL Draft?

While a lot of dominos have to fall before we get the answer to that question, there’s no denying Sanders will be of interest to the Raiders, who are in desperate need of a quarterback. Las Vegas makes sense on paper, seeing that Brady is a minority owner for the franchise. And based on Sanders’ comments at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the two are quite close. Sanders notably signed an NIL deal with Brady’s TB12 brand back in 2022. 

Shedeur Sanders on his relationship with @Raiders minority owner Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/nGQXBUJ16q

— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) February 28, 2025

“Tom Brady, he’s an all-time great” Sanders told Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Being able to have that resource, being able to have that person I’m able to talk to and call whenever I’m having questions about the game and he’s able to relate to it because he did it at the highest level. It’s truly amazing and I’m thankful for that.”

The Raiders own the No. 6 pick in the Draft. While initially it looked like Sanders would be off the board before then, he dropped to the No. 7 overall selection in ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s updated mock draft released earlier this week. There’s also been chatter about former Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart slotting into the QB2 slot with a strong performance at the Combine.

NFL insider: Teams looking for ‘superpower trait’ in Shedeur Sanders amid falling draft stock

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, teams are looking for a “superpower trait” from Sanders through the pre-draft process. He was the most accurate quarterback in college football in 2024, but franchises – particularly those in the AFC – are looking for something that separates him from the rest of the class.

“I think the issue with Shedeur – and this is going to be a difficult thing for him to address over the next six or seven weeks – is, are you special in any one area? Do you have a superpower trait?” Breer said on The Herd. “Or are you an average athlete with an average arm, in an NFL context?

“And I think that that’s the way a lot of teams look at him. He’s not a great athlete. He doesn’t have a big arm. So where is the superpower that’s going to make you want to take him in the Top 5? I think you attach that, then, to what the teams in the AFC are looking up at, and that’s sort of this Mount Olympus of quarterbacks.”

As a senior at Colorado this past season, Sanders led the nation with a 74% completion percentage. He also totaled 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns, along with just 10 interceptions on 477 pass attempts.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.