Shedeur Sanders falls in ESPN’s latest NFL Draft mock

A few weeks ago ESPN mocked Shedeur Sanders going in the top three of the NFL Draft, now he’s fallen all the way down to No. 6.

Laid out by Matt Miller, the star Colorado Buffaloes quarterback would fall to the Las Vegas Raiders, a match seemingly made in heaven but requiring quite a bit of chaos to happen. In the scenario, a quarterback wouldn’t be drafted until Cam Ward at No. 3, as selected by the New York Giants. And not even Buffs Heisman-winner Travis Hunter would go first, he’s still mocked to the Cleveland Browns. Going first to the Tennessee Titans would be Penn State rusher Abdul Carter.

While all of that is shocking, that quarterback-needy teams wouldn’t select one at the top of the draft, the fourth and fifth teams passing on a gunslinger is not. Both the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars appear to have their guys at the position, leading them to draft Michigan lineman Mason Graham and Wolverines cornerback Will Johnson.

So, there is a scenario where Sanders might end up in a great spot for himself. He’s already worked with Raiders minority owner and quarterback legend Tom Brady. The two could keep their mentor relationship. The Raiders have two great players already with end Brock Bowers and defensive end Maxx Crosby, but they need a quarterback for new head coach Pete Carroll.

Sanders would definitely see Ward going before him as a slight, especially since he seemed down to go to the Giants. But the more dive into the process the more it seems Ward keeps ending up in front of the Buffs player. Sanders was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year following an awesome season where he ranked in the top 10 nationally in completion percentage (74%), passing yards (4,134) and touchdowns (37) while breaking Colorado school records for passing touchdowns, passing yards, consecutive games with a touchdown pass, quarterback rating and completion percentage. Ward got a trip to New York for his stellar season of a nation-leading 39 touchdown passes while throwing for 4,313 yards on a 67.2% completion rate. The Washington State transfer led Miami to a 10-3 season and a trip to the Pop Tarts Bowl.

Meanwhile, Hunter doesn’t go first, despite the Titans already hinting they want a generational talent. The one-of-a-kind player here is Hunter. Never has a modern-day footballer played on both sides of the ball the high level of power conference football, let alone do it with the obscene production that Hunter did this past fall. Featuring as the country’s award-winning best receiver and the nation’s award-winning best defender for his cornerback skills, Hunter led the Colorado Buffaloes to an Alamo Bowl appearance. He finished with a Big 12-best 96 catches for 1,258 yards, which were both fourth in the NCAA last fall. Hunter’s 15 receiving touchdowns were a school record, conference-best, and second-best in the nation. He’s also added a rushing touchdown on a jet sweep. It’s for all of this offense that Hunter won the Biletnikoff Award. Defensively, Hunter racked up 36 tackles, four interceptions, 11 passes defended as well as a game-winning forced fumble on defense. Those ball-hawking skills placed Hunter at or near the top of the Big 12 leaderboard which is why he won the Chuck Bednarik Award.