"This is Colin Kaepernick all over again" - Stephen A. Smith baffled over Shedeur Sanders' 'disgraceful' draft slide on Day 2 

Shedeur Sanders went undrafted at the end of Day 2. After being projected as a first-round pick for the past two months, his draft stock is in free fall.

Five QBs have been taken off the board - Cam Ward (Tennessee Titans), Jaxson Dart (New York Giants), Tyler Shough (New Orleans Saints), Jalen Milroe (Seattle Seahawks), and Dillon Gabriel (Cleveland Browns).

Sports personality Stephen A. Smith couldn't wrap his head around Shedeur not being picked.

"This is a damn disgrace," he wrote on X. "How in the hell is @Shedeur not off the board, not drafted yet. Y’all still think this doesn’t have anything to do with teams hatin on @DeionSanders. 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!"

Smith was referring to how Colin Kaepernick famously kneeled during the national anthem in the 2016 season. After he became a free agent at the end of the season, he failed to find a team, with suggestions that he was being blackballed.

Smith didn't stop there.

"Someone just texted me this message and they are absolutely correct: “This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion.” All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again."

It'll be interesting to see which team eventually takes the leap of faith on the 23-year-old signal-caller who had a fantastic 2024 college football season, recording 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns.

Shedeur Sanders passed over by several teams in 2025 NFL draft

The 2025 NFL draft has not gone to plan for Shedeur Sanders. He's now projected to be a Day 3 pick and could go between Rounds 4 and 7. The son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has been passed over by multiple teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, who opted for Oregon’s DT Derrick Harmon with the No. 21 pick.

The Giants and Saints were also predicted to land Shedeur, but they went with Jaxson Dart (No. 25)and Tyler Shough (No. 40), respectively. The Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, and Saints were rumored destinations, but none took the plunge.

ESPN's Adam Schefter suggested that Sanders’ draft floor is No. 83, a pick held by the Steelers. Pittsburgh passed, too, selecting running back Kaleb Johnson. The Browns opted for Dillon Gabriel at No. 94.