Stephen A. Smith compares Shedeur Sanders to Colin Kaepernick amid NFL Draft slide

Football fans and experts alike were left stunned on Friday when the Cleveland Browns selected quarterback Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft. After the Browns announced their decision, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith took to social media to voice his frustration.

“This is a damn disgrace. How in the hell is [Shedeur Sanders] not off the board, not drafted yet?” Smith wrote on X. “Y’all still think this doesn’t have anything to do with teams hatin on [Deion Sanders]. This kid is a first rounder. In a different way, this is Kaepernick all over again…..being kept out. A damn disgrace. I don’t care what anyone says!”

Sanders’ slide in the draft would’ve been inconceivable before Friday night. Most experts ranked Sanders as the No. 2 quarterback in the draft, only trailing overall No. 1 pick Cam Ward.

There were several analysts who also had Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart ranked higher than Sanders ahead of the draft. Alas, nobody expected Sanders to have five QBs drafted ahead of him, including Alabama‘s Jalen Milroe.

People who rooted for Sanders’ success haven’t been shy to speak up about his slide in the draft. Most notably, President Donald Trump called out NFL teams for passing over Sanders.

“What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID?” Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the second round of the draft on Friday. “Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and was even greater in the NFL. He’s also a very good coach, streetwise and smart!

“Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has PHENOMENAL GENES, and is all set for Greatness. He should be ‘picked’ IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN. Good luck Shedeur, and say hello to your wonderful father!”

Sanders tallied 4,134 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and four rushing scores while completing 74% of his pass attempts in the 2024 campaign at Colorado. For his efforts, he was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and an AP Second-Team All-American.

He owns the school’s single-season records for passing yards, completions, attempts, touchdowns, completion percentage and quarterback rating. Moreover, he boasts the 14th-most passing yards in NCAA Division I history.

Sanders has been the subject of endless ridicule online for his slide and even received a prank call on draft night. Now, the 23-year-old QB can only anxiously await to hear his name called.