Shedeur Sanders emerging as top-10 lock in NFL Draft after surprising injury news

With the 2025 NFL Draft now inside of two weeks away, the picture is coming into focus for several top prospects in the incoming rookie class. Miami quarterback Cam Ward looks like a lock for the first-overall selection by the Tennessee Titans, and rumors continue to build around Travis Hunter Jr. going second to the Cleveland Browns, and pass rusher Abdul Carter coming off the board third to the New York Giants.

As for the other top quarterback in the class, Shedeur Sanders, rumors in recent days have linked him to the New Orleans Saints, who hold the ninth-overall selection in the draft. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports, for example, just had Sanders to the Saints in his most recent mock draft, as did Jeff Risdon of Draft Wire, who wrote that “[t]his feels like both the latest Sanders will get selected and also the best-case scenario for the quarterback—high enough that it respects his considerable talent but low enough that it fuels the chip on his shoulder.”

The Godfather of all draft analysis, Mel Kiper Jr., also had Sanders going to the Saints at 9 in his latest mock draft, writing:

This is a great outcome for New Orleans, though. I like this match a lot.

Sanders is my top-ranked quarterback, and his accuracy jumps off the tape. He completed 74% of his throws last season despite being under constant pressure. Playing in the NFC South with good weather and a few indoor stadiums would ease any arm strength concerns. And he wouldn’t be forced to play right away. Derek Carr, 34, will be with the Saints for at least another season; Sanders could learn behind him before taking over.

Well, about that final point.

The game has changed in New Orleans. According to new reporting from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury that could threaten status for the 2025 NFL season:

Carr missed seven games due to hand and oblique injuries, and his status on the Saints’ roster was already something of a question this offseason given his contract and incoming head coach Kellen Moore. However, Carr and the organization put pen to paper on a new deal that converted the bulk of his salary into a signing bonus, keeping him in New Orleans for 2025.

However, now this shoulder injury throws another wrench into the process.

Outside of Carr, the Saints have recent draft picks Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener on the roster, as well as Ben DiNucci. But if the rumors had Sanders finding his way to New Orleans in the 2025 NFL Draft before this Carr news, this development seems to solidify the idea that the Colorado QB will be headed to the NFC South in a few weeks.