Shedeur Sanders remains available for night two of the 2025 NFL Draft as he ended up sliding out of the first round. With some teams potentially viewing Tyler Shough as a better prospect, and the Cleveland Browns open to trade talks for the first pick in the second round at 33rd overall, that slide could continue for a bit.
This could lead to an unexpected team being the one to take Sanders after all, and that team will end up being one that has a starting quarterback in place for this season, but not the long-term future. The team that will end up drafting Shedeur Sanders is the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco 49ers Drafting Shedeur Sanders in Round 2
As the San Francisco 49ers get set to enter the 2025 NFL season with uncertainty surrounding their quarterback spot past this season, the 2025 NFL Draft could create the opportunity for them to avoid this being an issue.
Currently, it is Brock Purdy starting for the team, but he is nearing the end of his rookie contract, and is looking for nearly $50 million per year on his new contract. Purdy has been decent for the 49ers, but not enough so to warrant that type of money on this upcoming new contract. For a 49ers team trying to avoid a rebuild, paying Purdy that type of money will only close their Super Bowl window, and set them behind going forward.
To continue the overall movement of youth that the 49ers have started this season, they should look to draft a new rookie quarterback to have on a rookie deal. With Shedeur Sanders sliding, it creates the perfect scenario for the 49ers that they couldn’t have imagined when first entering the draft.
Under Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme, Shedeur Sanders would be ideal with his passing ability as it fits the motto of a Shanahan offense, which is to elevate the unit, but protect the ball. Sanders only threw 27 interceptions over his entire four-year college career, and had an adjures completion percentage of 80.0%. Sanders is accurate when passing the ball, and routinely leads his receivers open.
Shedeur Sanders finished his college career with a total of 14,337 yards and 134 touchdowns. He was productive at the college level, even upon transferring to Colorado. Sanders fits the 49ers’ scheme better than Purdy does, and in addition to being a more cost-effective option, would be the San Francisco 49ers’ best option to have under center this season if they want to get back to competing for the NFC West title.