Getty Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders.
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ search for a franchise quarterback continues after the team didn’t add to the position in the 2024 NFL draft. The team didn’t have many options after six quarterbacks were selected before they picked at No. 13.
When that happened, it’s likely the Raiders set their sights on 2025. A lot of names will emerge during the 2024 college football season but as of right now, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders looks like a future first-round pick.
Pro Football Focus’ Max Chadwick is projecting the Raiders to select Sanders in the draft next year.
“The Raiders didn’t select a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft despite having Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell as their current starting options,” Chadwick wrote in an April 29 column.
“Here, they go with Sanders, the current favorite (+100) at DraftKings Sportsbook to be the No. 1 overall pick. He is an advanced processor who earned the third-best clean-pocket passing grade (92.9) in college football this past season. The only two who were higher were the first two picks in 2024 — Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels.”
Sanders was very impressive in his first year at Colorado and may have been a first-round pick had he decided to declare for the draft. However, may need to prove more to solidify himself as a first-round pick next year.
Will Shedeur Sanders Be a 1st-Round Pick?
Early projections seem to indicate that Sanders will be a first-round pick in 2025. With how many teams were desperate for a quarterback this year, he almost certainly would’ve been selected this year in the opening round.
However, there have been many players who looked like first-round picks who struggled in their additional year in college and ended up dropping. Colorado had an excellent start last season and started 3-0, including a huge upset over TCU. The problem is that the team fell apart after that start and only won one more game.
Sanders didn’t have an abundance of talent to work with after Travis Hunter got hurt but still threw for 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. If he can replicate that production in 2024, he’ll almost certainly be a first-round pick.
What remains to be determined is how he’ll rank compared to other quarterbacks who are expected to be in the draft. The Raiders aren’t likely to get the No. 1 pick next year so Sanders being the third or fourth-ranked quarterback would help their chances of getting him.
Other QBs for Las Vegas Raiders to watch
Sanders will likely be heavily linked to the Raiders due to the fact that his father Deion Sanders and head coach Antonio Pierce are friends.
Sanders went out of his way to praise the Raiders’ decision to hire Pierce this offseason. It’s easy to see him being excited about his son playing in Las Vegas.
If that doesn’t end up being possible, there are some intriguing quarterback prospects for 2025. Georgia’s Carson Beck and Texas’ Quinn Ewers appear to be two of the early favorites to be first-round picks. The Raiders should be watching them closely this college football season.
There shouldn’t be as many teams looking to take quarterbacks early next season so Las Vegas shouldn’t have as much competition.