Shedeur Sanders receives encouragement from Mike Greenberg amidst his falling draft stock

ESPN's Mike Greenberg claimed Shedeur Sanders fretting over who is the first overall pick doesn't make much sense because players drafted later on have had better careers.

Shedeur Sanders receives encouragement from Mike Greenberg amidst his falling draft stock

Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Shedeur Sanders‘ draft stock has taken a hit since the NFL Combine in March. Currently, Sanders’s dream of becoming the number one overall pick in the draft seems like a distant memory. However, this might not be such a bad development if Sanders views the scenario through Mike Greenberg’s eyes.

Miami’s Cam Ward is the favorite to be the first player drafted this year by the Tennessee Titans. The Cleveland Browns hold the second, and they are leaning towards taking Sanders’ teammate and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, while the New York Giants at three are very interested in Penn State’s pass rusher Abdul Carter.

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Sanders was part of that elite group of players, but as time passed, more and more teams with high draft picks, decided to pursue someone else. Greenberg claimed that sliding down the draft order could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

The host of ESPN’s Get Up brought out the recent draft history. Greenberg pointed out that quarterbacks who were drafted later have found more success compared to those who went as the number one overall pick.

The recent history tells us that the best thing that could happen to a quarterback is not to be the first one selected in his class. Just last year, Jayden Daniels [Washington Commanders], who was the second off the board—he had the best rookie season ever and surpassed the one year before him, when CJ Stroud [Houston Texans] was the QB picked and he lit up the league. The year before, Kenny Pickett was the first QB taken, and he’s now on his third [NFL] team, while Brock Purdy [San Francisco 49ers], the literal last player drafted, started in the Super Bowl.

Mike Greenberg said

Shedeur Sanders should look at past quarterbacks

Greenberg didn’t end his monologue with only examples of recently drafted quarterbacks. He named players from the previous generation who have spent half a decade in the NFL.

Shedeur Sanders receives encouragement from Mike Greenberg amidst his falling draft stock
Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

Greeny went even further back to the era when Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers were drafted. Rodgers was the 24th pick, while Brady went in the 6th round, 199th overall. Brady and Rodgers have won a combined seven league MVPs together.

The last eight NFL MVPs have all been quarterbacks, they are. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady… Do you know how many of those were the first quarterback in their class? Zero.

Mike Greenberg said

Moreover, the playoffs last year were dominated by quarterbacks who were not the first overall pick.

There were nine quarterbacks who started playoff games last year for the team that drafted them—of those nine, exactly zero were the first quarterback selected in their class… All we’re saying is don’t feel sorry for the ones who come later because sometimes that wait winds up being the best thing that could possibly happen.

Mike Greenberg said

Usually, teams with high draft picks are in a rebuild, and the ones in the middle of the pack require two or three positions to either be third in their conference or secure a wildcard appearance.

Sanders aims to emulate the same legendary aura as his Hall of Fame father, Deion Sanders. So, sliding down a few draft spots to a better team isn’t a bad proposition. Draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates’ final mock draft suggested that the New Orleans Saints could be the perfect team for Sanders.

Sanders was a standout for the Buffaloes in his final year. He led the FBS by completing 74% of his passes for 4134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 picks.

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