Saints’ Decision Not to Draft Shedeur Sanders as Unpopular as Ever After NFL Preseason Debut

Following the stellar showing of rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the Cleveland Browns’ 30-10 preseason opening win over the Carolina Panthers, it was the New Orleans Saints who seemed to catch the most heat.

Sanders, who is the son of Colorado head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was selected in the fifth round with the No. 144 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. A jarring result, considering that Sanders was at one point viewed as a contender for the No. 1 overall pick.

The 23-year-old rookie, who had gotten minimal reps with the Browns’ starters, completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’s win. His strong showing had many fans eager to jump on the Saints, who were a quarterback-needy team that opted to go in a different direction during the draft.

New Orleans Saints Under Fire for Drafting Tyler Shough Instead of Shedeur Sanders

The Saints passed on Sanders a total of six times, with their second-round selection of Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough at pick No. 40, stunning the NFL world. With Sanders lighting it up in his first NFL action, it appeared that many fans online seemed to believe that the Saints should have buyer’s remorse about their decision.

“Someone really gotta explain why so many teams passed up on Shedeur Sanders. Saints? Vikings,” questioned another.

“Saints could’ve got Shedeur Sanders,” said another.

“Meanwhile, the Saints drafted quarterback Tyler Shough instead of Shedeur Sanders,” quipped one fan.

“The Saints really drafted Tyler Shough over Shedeur Sanders,” added another.

While it is only the preseason and Shough seems to have a more straightforward path to starting for the Saints than Sanders does for the Browns, there is no doubt that fans will be tuning in to Shough’s debut to see how he performs.