“Haven’t drafted a 1st round QB in 54 years (Archie Manning)”: NFL insider weighs in on Shedeur Sanders to Saints after Derek Carr injury

NCAA Football: Colorado NFL Showcase - Source: Imagn

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders is one of the two top QBs in the 2025 NFL draft. However, with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants signing QBs in free agency, it appears likely that he will fall out of the top five. As a result, he could be available to the New Orleans Saints, who hold the ninth pick.

The Saints had Derek Carr as their QB since 2023, so they were not a team most pundits viewed as a possible destination for Sanders. However, on Friday, a report from ESPN said that Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury that could impact his availability in the 2025 season.

Analyst Cameron Wolfe spoke about what this could mean for Sanders on the NFL Network on Friday.

"Huge news on the injury front from Derek Carr and the Saints have already been doing significant homework on this QB class at number nine," Wolfe said. "If it goes as we expect with Cam Ward at one then maybe Shedeur Sanders is a top option for them with that number nine pick. They sent their QB coach to see if throw at Colorado's Pro Day.

"It's interesting because one stat that stands out through drafts, the Saints haven't drafted a QB in the first or second round in 54 years, since Archie Manning in 1971. So, it's a team that just has not invested the resources in it but this feels like the year if any."

Wolfe said the Saints have a choice to make between picking a QB like Sanders this year or waiting until 2026 to draft their QB of the future.

"So, they have a decision to make. Do they go about and pull the trigger on a Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart, or do they wait until 2026 where Arch Manning might be available as a QB for a team? That's gonna be something they do their homework in," Wolfe added.

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Deion Sanders chimes in on the possibility of Shedeur Sanders going to New Orleans

Shortly after the news that Derek Carr is dealing with a season-threatening shoulder injury, analyst Louis Riddick posted on X:

"That 9th pick gonna be all kinds of interesting."

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Deion Sanders responded with the 'eyes' emoji. It will be interesting to see if anything else comes out in the coming days connecting Shedeur to the Saints.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Krutik Jain