Jason Kelce doesn’t buy "character issues" as reason for Shedeur Sanders' nightmarish draft slide

Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce has directly challenged the narrative that caused quarterback Shedeur Sanders to plummet in the NFL Draft. Kelce, a six-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion, made these comments alongside his brother Travis on their "New Heights" podcast on Wednesday.

The brothers discussed Sanders' shocking fall to the 144th overall selection by the Cleveland Browns.

"I think the reality, to me, and the way I look at it, is it's hard to find a great quarterback in this league," Jason said. "If these teams really felt that Shedeur Sanders was a top first-round talent, they would have picked him.

"That's what I think. You mean to tell me if Michael Vick had these same exact off-the-field things happening, or, you know, if he had Michael Vick's exact talent, he wouldn't have been taken in the first round? Of course, he would have." (22:24)

The draft-day slide became the weekend's biggest story. Reports from former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason indicated several owners instructed their teams to remove Shedeur Sanders from draft boards, labeling him "entitled."

ESPN's broadcast featured heated exchanges between analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Louis Riddick over Sanders' fall.

Jason Kelce points to the NFL's spotty QB evaluation history in the context of Shedeur Sanders' draft slide

NCAA Football: Colorado Spring Game - Source: Imagn

Jason Kelce pointed out how teams routinely draft players with serious off-field issues when they believe that player's ability warrants it.

In his assessment, Kelce referenced the league's history of misses at the quarterback position. His comments aligned with ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who, during draft coverage, called NFL teams "clueless for 50 years when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks."

"There's too many players with character issues, with concerns every year coming out about criminal behavior, off-field antics and other things that get drafted in the first round," Jason said.

"And they get drafted in the first round because they're ballers and the NFL wants great players. The fact that he got drafted at 144 in the fifth round tells me that maybe these off-the-field things mattered a little, but the bottom line is teams just do not think the potential of Shedeur Sanders panning out at the next level is high enough to warrant an earlier pick. And teams get this wrong all the time."

Despite his frank assessment of why teams passed on Sanders, the elder Kelce expressed strong support for the quarterback's future with the Browns. He backed this up with real enthusiasm about Sanders potentially proving his doubters wrong.

History shows the league has missed badly on quarterbacks before. This includes Tom Brady falling to the sixth round to Brock Purdy going last overall before leading the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance.