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

Saints' Decision Not to Draft Shedeur Sanders as Unpopular as Ever After NFL Preseason Debut originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

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.

The Saints chose this over Shedeur Sanders pic.twitter.com/O9gWOiozkI

— LockedOnBuffs (@LockedOnBuffs) August 9, 2025

"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.

When Will Tyler Shough Make His NFL Preseason Debut?

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.

Shough and the Saints will open up their preseason slate on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers in a game that will air at 4:00 p.m. ET on the NFL Network.

Will the Browns Give Shedeur Sanders More First-Team Reps?

Head coach Kevin Stefanski liked what he saw from the former Colorado gunslinger, but was not willing to confirm that his performance would change things at practice.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked if Shedeur Sanders did enough tonight to earn more reps with the second-team or first-team offense pic.twitter.com/hFAbQOwiGu

— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 9, 2025

Instead, Stefanski insisted the team is focused on the development of the entire quarterback room, which at the moment features four other active players:

• Joe Flacco
• Kenny Pickett
• Dillon Gabriel
• Tyler Huntley

Although Stefanski wasn't willing to commit to an expanded role for Sanders, it certainly can't hurt that he performed so well despite having more reps with equipment managers than he did with the first team.

Sanders will presumably have two more shots at impressing as the Browns will take on the Philadelphia Eagles (8/16) and the Los Angeles Rams (8/23) to close out preseason play.

Related: Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Had 3 Words After NFL Preseason Debut

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 9, 2025, where it first appeared.