The 2025 NFL Draft is officially over, and Shedeur Sanders finally heard his name called in the fifth round. After nonstop debate and criticism over his draft stock, the dust is starting to settle. But it doesn’t feel like the conversation will come to a complete stop anytime soon.
It’s been nearly a week since the draft ended, yet fans and analysts are still talking. Some are defending Sanders, saying he deserved better. Others argue that he was picked right where he should have been.
Malik Nabers, the New York Giants wide receiver, is the latest voice to join the conversation. Nabers belongs to the first group of people who think Sanders should have received a much earlier selection. He didn’t hold back from criticizing the NFL teams for passing on him.
Malik Nabers Calls Out Treatment of Shedeur Sanders in NFL Draft 2025
New York Giants wide receiver Nabers was just as shocked as everyone else when Sanders slipped to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Like many, the 21-year-old believed Sanders was a sure-shot first-round pick. But the draft saga gave us a different story, and Nabers was critical about the result.
During an appearance on 7 p.m. in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, Nabers called out NFL teams for letting a talent like Sanders fall so far. He didn’t hold back, defending Sanders’ ability and questioning why his talent was overlooked.
“You can’t knock his talent,” Nabers said. He reminded fans and critics that Sanders still completed 70% of his passes last season, even while playing behind a struggling offensive line. He also praised Sanders’ pocket awareness and dismissed the idea that the young quarterback holds the ball too long or takes unnecessary sacks.
🔥 Powerful. Real Talk. Malik Nabers on Shedeur & Draft
“You don’t do something like that to somebody like that. Not to a kid that’s been working his whole life. Been told that Deion’s kids were never gonna be as good as him”
📽️ @7PMinBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/oOk5TxHVse
— JaKi 🇺🇸 (@JaKiTruth) May 1, 2025
Beyond performance, he also addressed the off-field perception of Sanders, suggesting that teams judged him unfairly based on how he carried himself rather than his football ability. “We’re here to do one thing, and that’s play football. Everybody has different personalities… We all made differently,” Nabers said, emphasizing that Sanders’ personality should not have impacted his draft stock.
KEEP READING: WATCH: ‘Prove All the People That Passed on You Wrong’ — Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders Draft Call Goes Viral
Then, the Giants’ WR made a bold prediction that could stir even more controversy in the NFL community. Nabers, the No. 6 overall pick in last year’s draft, suggested that Sanders’ connection to his father, Deion Sanders, may have contributed to his slide. He believes politics played a bigger role behind the scenes.
“They were just doing that to show how they bigger than what he wanted to stand for. I understand that, but you don’t do that,” Nabers said, implying that it wasn’t a lack of skill that hurt Sanders’ draft stock, but outside agendas.
Whether intentional or not, Sanders’ dramatic drop in the draft didn’t sit well with those who had been closely watching him for a long time. For Nabers, Sanders was one of the top quarterbacks in this class, and his drop just didn’t make sense.
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