Several teams passed on Shedeur Sanders multiple times during the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton thinks that was a mistake.
After the third round of the draft concluded on Friday night without Sanders being selected, Payton issued a warning to his NFL rivals. The former Super Bowl champion had high praise for Sanders and said teams that passed on the quarterback should “beware.”
“I saw [Shedeur] when he was in junior high, and then I saw him in high school, and then I saw him when he was a sophomore in high school when they were on their way to Florida,” Payton said, via ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “He’s going to, like there’ll be this chip on his shoulder, and beware because this guy is going to play in this league.”
The Cleveland Browns eventually selected Sanders on Saturday with the No. 144 overall pick.
Payton was among the coaches, scouts and executives who attended Sanders’ pro day at Colorado earlier this month. He thought Sanders looked “outstanding” and called it “surprising” that so many teams have concerns about the former Buffaloes star.
Of course, all of that is easy for Payton to say. The Broncos appear to have their quarterback of the future in Bo Nix, whom they drafted with the 12th overall pick a year ago.
It was not exactly stunning that Sanders fell out of the first round after some of the unflattering reports that surfaced about him in recent weeks. Almost no one expected him to remain on the board when Day 3 of the draft began, however.
As Payton said, Sanders should have a chip on his shoulder when his NFL career begins. He will have plenty of doubters to prove wrong, and every team he plays against will be one that decided he was not worth drafting.
