With Raiders trading for Geno Smith, Shedeur Sanders is now the biggest mystery of the 2025 NFL Draft

| American Football | 03/09/2025

By Charles Robinson, Senior reporter

Late Friday night, after the Las Vegas Raiders shook up the quarterback market by acquiring Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks, a high-ranking AFC executive was mentally scrolling through potential landing spots for Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders when he delivered a note of caution.

“I wouldn’t cross the Raiders off yet,” he said. “Let’s see what happens between now and [the draft].”

This is a lesson that was learned across the NFL last season. The Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a massive deal in free agency, leading virtually everyone inside the league to remove them from the 2024 draft’s quarterback matrix. Then the Falcons shocked the world and selected Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick, and the message to the rest of the NFL became clear: When a team is desperate to resolve a quarterback problem, all bets are off when it comes to the limits of their pursuit. Especially when the owner of the franchise is arguably the most desperate person in the equation.

For now, that’s what keeps Sanders in play in Las Vegas, adding to the growing mystery of his draft stock — which has been speculated anywhere from the No. 2 overall pick, to sliding out of the first round entirely. With that in mind, I polled 12 NFL talent evaluators, including general managers, heads of player personnel, heads of football operations and others, to share their thoughts on where Shedeur Sanders’ value stands heading into Colorado’s pro day, which is slated to take place as part of the broader Big 12 pro days between March 18-21.

The key takeaways …

An NFC general manager spelled out a new normal when it comes to quarterback talent and NFL teams that are willing to throw everything at the problem: You can’t predict anything anymore. The Falcons made the unthinkable strategy more plausible when they signed Cousins to a massive contract, then drafted Penix eighth overall, and then blew up their Cousins deal by benching him late in the season. That leans into the AFC evaluator’s point about the Raiders and Sanders. Just because they traded for Geno Smith — and even if they give Smith a new contract — you can’t be certain the Raiders won’t take Sanders with the sixth overall pick and set their quarterback table the same way the Falcons did last season.

Predictability and logic are out the window. NFL teams now have to assume that every option could be exercised, no matter the cost. And that includes on the collegiate level, with quarterbacks now instantly changing the landscape by entering the transfer portal and also weighing NIL money in their draft decision.

As the NFC general manager put it: “It’s tough to guess where any quarterbacks go these days. The planet seemed shocked when Atlanta picked a quarterback last year. And people were surprised when Carson Beck chose [to transfer to Miami] instead of going to the NFL. And Quinn Ewers chose the NFL over NIL.”

That reality keeps Sanders potentially in play for Las Vegas. And to that point, multiple evaluators pointed to watching for markers with the Raiders over the next seven weeks. What will Geno Smith’s contract extension look like? Where could the Raiders exit the deal with moderate salary cap pain? Who do they send to Colorado’s pro day? If it’s offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, that’s going to raise eyebrows. Or does the team do what the Falcons did with Penix late in the draft process last offseason — when they flew out key personnel and worked out Penix even after signing Cousins? If the Raiders work Sanders out or even bring him to Las Vegas for a visit, that’s also going to raise antennas. For any teams that are in on Sanders, all of this will be tracked and the Raiders will remain on the radar.

The negative buzz about Sanders’ personality can — and will — be distorted

One longtime evaluator made an interesting point about this year’s combine: More than ever, he’s hearing grousing about players who have earned significant NIL money seeming less pressed about their draft process. And that’s resulting in some negative opinions about players seeming entitled or arrogant.

“Some guys have already gotten money and they may not feel like the future of their lives is hanging on interviews with teams anymore, or they might even think they’ve already ‘made it,’” he said. “I can see more of that since NIL has become bigger and bigger. And that attitude really pisses some people off. So I wasn’t shocked when I saw [the reporting] that Shedeur was supposedly arrogant or not connected in interviews. Personally, I didn’t feel like that. But I also know that there are [people in the NFL] who are starting to automatically think it’s NIL type of entitlement if a kid comes in and is maybe a little overconfident or cocky in a meeting.”

Another evaluator even shared some of the titles that are starting to get more prevalent during the draft process.