NFL Draft day 2 reaction

By: Josh Frey-Sam

Shedeur Sanders is not a Day 3 pick.

The skillset wouldn’t suggest he is anyway.

Sanders’ upside may appear limited, but you can’t ignore the qualities that he brings to the table — poise, toughness and elite processing ability (when kept clean), to name a few.

So that begs the question — why hasn’t he been drafted?

I have a few theories.

We all know by now that his interview process wasn’t great. Some teams felt as though he came off as entitled and arrogant, which he might be able to get away with if he were THAT GUY, but he isn’t.

However, I will say that I don’t think every team had a problem with his interview. Some people like that cocky attitude. Hell, I want my quarterback to walk around with that type of swagger. Of course, there’s a line to walk and perhaps some people feel he crosses it.

But I don’t think this has to do with interviews at this point.

Here’s the thing: even if Shedeur Sanders’ upside is limited and you don’t think he’d be ready to play anytime soon, it’s borderline disrespectful that he’s still undrafted at this point. We’ve seen way worse prospects go before him.

And so that leads me to a different thought: I think this has become a PR decision for most teams.

At this point, Sanders would enter any organization as QB3 at best. And somehow, there would be this weird sense of pressure that hangs over whichever team he’s on, as if they can’t cut him, and once they get to the regular season, they should consider starting him.

That’s why it never made sense to me for the New York Giants to draft him. Could you imagine if that team started 1-4? There would be roars for Shedeur to start, whether he was ready to or not. It would be a season-long PR battle for the franchise. With Jaxson Dart, that pressure will not exist… at least for the first half of the season.

That’s my best guess for all of this. As I said, though, this has gone a bit too far, in my opinion.

I was always rooting for Shedeur, but now I’ll be rooting a bit harder.

I’m going to provide a more in-depth breakdown of the draft next week, but I’ll leave you with a couple of teams whose drafts I’ve particularly enjoyed.

Dallas Cowboys: G Tyler Booker, EDGE Donovan Ezeirakau, CB Shavon Revel

*They are filling needs and have found value at each pick. Booker is a road grader and a culture builder; Ezeirakau was extremely productive in college and could have an immediate impact; Revel is coming off an ACL injury and played against lesser competition, but his ceiling is tremendous.

Houston Texans: WR Jayden Higgins, T Areiontae Ersery, WR Jaylin Noel, CB Jaylin Smith

*Nick Caserios was already considered one of the most active GMs in the league, and after trading out of the 1st round on Thursday, he went to WORK on Friday. The Texans obviously saw an opportunity at this part of the draft, because they offloaded their picks in Rounds 4 and 5 in order to keep trading up and back into the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Higgins is my favourite WR in this class- he forms a twin tower duo with Nico Collins. Adding Noel was the cherry on top to a revamped WR room in Houston. He’s a crisp route runner with some serious juice. The future room of Collins, Higgins, Noel and Tank Dell looks bright — Christian Kirk is there too. Meanwhile, Ersery has as much upside as any tackle in this class - he’s their future on that offensive line.

New England Patriots: OT Will Campbell, RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR Kyle Williams, C Jared Wilson

*Love what the Patriots have done with their offensive line. Campbell is their future at LT, and Wilson, who they grabbed in the 3rd, is their future at center. Henderson is the perfect compliment to Rhamondre Stevenson, while Williams figures to be a consistent and reliable target for Drake Maye.

New York Giants: EDGE Abdul Carter, QB Jaxson Dart, IDL Darius Alexander

*The Giants’ defensive line is terrifying. Even if they trade Kayvon Thibodeaux, I still want nothing to do with that unit. Fun draft if you’re a Giants fan.

Seattle Seahawks: G Grey Zabel, S Nick Emmanwori, TE Elijah Arroyo, QB Jalen Milroe

*Give GM John Schneider a lot of credit here. The Seahawks entered the draft with a boatload of Day 2 picks, and I think he nailed each of them. Remember how Mike Macdonald helped turn Kyle Hamilton into arguably the best safety in the NFL? He’s got his next star pupil in Emmanwori. Arroyo is a tremendous receiving option, while Milroe can sit back and learn how to be an NFL quarterback.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh