Stephen A. Smith Loses His Mind Over Shedeur Sanders Draft Snub: ‘Kaepernick All Over Again!’

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was apoplectic Friday night as Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders remained on the NFL Draft board at the end of the third round.

No analysts predicted such a slide for the son of Hall of Famer and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.

On his X account, Smith blasted the NFL with the third round drawing to a close.

“This is a damn disgrace,” he wrote. “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!”

Through three rounds from Thursday to Friday night, team after team passed on the 23-year-old.

Quarterbacks taken before Shedeur Sanders were Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe, Dillon Gabriel, and Tyler Shough.

Sanders entered the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the most high-profile quarterbacks in the class. He put up big numbers in Boulder in 2024, and one of his favorite targets – two-way star Travis Hunter – won the Heisman Trophy.

The son of the NFL legend threw for over 3,200 yards with 27 touchdowns against only three interceptions, but faced criticism for taking sacks behind an offensive line he criticized publicly.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper predicted Sanders would go early and did not rule out him going in the top three.

An unnamed NFL assistant coach blasted Shedeur Sanders in an anonymous quote on Wednesday, Yahoo Sports reported. The coach said his meeting with the quarterback was “the worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life.”

“He’s so entitled,” the anonymous coach added. “He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates…But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”