The story of the 2025 NFL Draft has been the shocking slide of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Despite entering the 2024 collegiate season with a strong case of being the No. 1 pick in the draft, or even being speculated as recently as this week to go to the Cleveland Browns at No. 2, Sanders is entering Day 3 of the draft without an NFL team to call home.
As Day 3 of the draft starts, there likely will be a new market of teams that would consider taking Sanders at this stage, given that there would be the clear expectation that he would be arriving as the team's backup quarterback instead of a rookie quarterback entrusted with saving the franchise. The Chicago Bears won't be one of those teams as they are set at the quarterback position, but the slide of Sanders should have some fans cringing when they think about their past Caleb Williams' takes.
Shedeur Sanders is everything Caleb Williams wasn't
Now, the biggest difference between Sanders and Williams was that the Bears' quarterback, at the time, was the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Beyond that, Williams was being referred to as the best rookie quarterback to enter the draft since Andrew Luck.
But, for many among the Bears' fanbase, that wasn't how Williams was viewed. Williams was viewed as a disruptor in a negative way. The baseless claim was that Williams and the people in his inner circle, including his dad, were going to shake things up. That would be the reason why many thought Williams would refuse to play for the Bears. Not a single one of those takes proved to be true.
Sanders, the quarterback, was worthy of, at least, being taken in the second round, but NFL teams aren't overlooking the influence that his father, Deion Sanders, may have on the process. In past comments, Coach Prime has not been shy about saying he would tell his son to avoid going to a team if he were selected by a team they didn't want to go to. Beyond that, if you're a head coach, you're likely not wanting to take Shedeur for the fear that Deion may be a logical candidate to replace you if things go bad.
Everything that comes with drafting Sanders is what Bears fans unfairly felt drafting Williams would be like. That is one of the reasons why the final day of the 2025 NFL Draft has arrived with Sanders still being undrafted.