Hall of Fame running back claims NFL teams were warned against drafting Shedeur Sanders

Shedeur Sanders was drafted in the 5th round of the 2025 NFL Draft. His unexpected fall surprised many, with even a Hall of Famer claiming that teams were told not to select the quarterback.

Eric Dickerson, one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, believes the league did Shedeur Sanders wrong during the 2025 draft. The 6-time Pro Bowler even claims that all 32 teams were instructed not to pick the former Colorado standout.

“I tell you this much, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL, that the NFL told [teams] don’t draft him, do not draft him,” Eric Dickerson said on the Roggin and Rodney Show, via Christian Arnold of the New York Post. “We’re going to make an example out of him. And this came from a very good source, a very good source.”

Who would have told NFL teams not to draft Shedeur Sanders?

After Sanders’ shocking slide in the 2025 NFL Draft, many fans began questioning the reason behind it. Widely regarded as a top-tier prospect, reports suggest that his interviews with teams did not go well, which may have raised concerns.

Dickerson did not disclose any specific names, but he said a trusted source told him the Browns received a call advising them not to draft Sanders. According to him, the intention was for Sanders to go undrafted altogether.

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“I won’t say who — somebody called the Cleveland Browns and said, ‘Don’t do that, draft him,’” Dickerson added. “Because they weren’t going to draft him, either. . . .They were forced into drafting him, because somebody made a call to them.

“He was not gonna get drafted, to basically show you this is what happens when you do this. When I say it came from a good source, I say it came from a very, very good source.”