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ESPN Analyst Calls Shedeur Sanders's Stunning Draft Fall 'Disgusting' in Passionate Rant

Mel Kiper Jr. can't believe what he's seeing.

Liam McKeone

Sanders remained available heading into Day 3
Sanders remained available heading into Day 3 / Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images
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Shedeur Sanders is the big story of the NFL draft with three rounds in the books entering Saturday's final picks. The former Colorado Buffaloes star quarterback was supposed to be long gone by now, with pretty much every expert believing he'd be picked either in the first round or soon afterwards. For whatever reason, that hasn't been the case— to the disgust of ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., who ranted several times about Sanders's fall late on Friday night as other QBs came off the board.

In one such rant, Kiper Jr. called Sanders's shocking fall "disgusting" and proclaimed someone would have to explain to him what he's lacking compared to his peers getting drafted before him.

"All I can say is, I think it's disgusting," Kiper Jr. said passionately. "I don't understand what the heck's going on with this. Fifth player on my boards, never happened before in 47 years where a player that high has dropped this far into the fourth round at quarterback. Sitting there at round four, with other quarterbacks being taken who aren't as good as Shedeur. Aren't even close, in my opinion, in terms of accuracy, toughness. Arm strength is certainly more than good enough. Outside of not (having) the rocket arm, the 4.6 speed, and the big frame, the 6'3" 230-pound frame, what is he lacking? Somebody is going to have to explain that one to me."

Whatever the reason Sanders has yet to be drafted, this story isn't going away anytime soon.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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