New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers expressed his belief Thursday that quarterback Shedeur Sanders should not have fallen to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft. During an appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony (h/t Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper), Nabers said there is "no way in hell" Sanders should have lasted as long as he did: Nabers went on to suggest that teams should not have discounted Sanders' on-field performance because of perceived attitude concerns, saying: "You don't do that to somebody like that. You can't knock his talent.
… Some things you just can't knock. Come on, bro.
We gotta stop making feelings with how people play that linger. Yeah, he might have some things he might say on camera, off the field, that don’t have to do with how he plays football. We're here for one thing and that's to play football.
Everybody's got different personalities." For much of the predraft process, Sanders was considered a surefire first-round pick and the likely No. 2 quarterback in the draft behind only Miami's Cam Ward.
However, five quarterbacks ended up coming off the board before him. He had to wait until the fifth round when the Cleveland Browns finally took him with the No. 144 overall pick.
Leading up to the draft, some reports emerged that suggested teams had concerns about Sanders' personality, which could explain why he slid as far as he did. NFL insider Josina Anderson reported that an NFL quarterbacks coach thought Sanders was "brash" and "arrogant" during predraft interviews. Meanwhile, NFL draft insider Todd McShay reported that some teams believed Sanders did not take a "professional approach" to the interviews.
McShay (h/t Dan Benton of USA Today) also reported that Sanders "didn't have a great interview" with Giants head coach Brian Daboll. Sanders was reportedly unprepared, Sanders didn't like getting called out on it, and Daboll "didn't appreciate him not liking it." The Giants were considered a strong candidate to draft Sanders, but they instead took Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter with the No.
3 overall pick and then traded back into the first round at No. 25 to take Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who may be Nabers' quarterback of the future.
