Shedeur Sanders Sends Message to Viral Raiders Fan

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Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders.

Many Las Vegas Raiders fans were hoping that the team would lose the rest of their games prior to Week 16 and earn the No. 1 pick in the draft. Some of those fans were hoping that the No. 1 pick would be used on Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

One fan went so far as to make his own sign that said, “Tank for Sheduer,” and displayed it during the Raiders’ Week 15 game against the Atlanta Falcons. Sanders has been a hyped-up prospect for years but the NFL is becoming a reality. He’s in his last year in college and will be playing on Sundays next year.

He saw the Raiders fan with the sign and had a response on what he thought about it.

“Whenever you see a fan took his time out of the day to bring that sign and then it’s on TV and everything, it’s just like dang, this is crazy,” Sanders said on the Dec. 24 episode of the “2Legendary with Shedeur Sanders” podcast. “It feels real. It’s real, now.”

There’s not much Sanders can do to end with the Raiders. He’s going to have to play wherever he’s drafted but there’s been a lot of flirting with Las Vegas. Time will tell if it can happen.

Could Raiders Still Land Shedeur Sanders at No. 6?

According to Tankathon, the Raiders are currently set to hold the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Many believe that could take them out of position to draft Sanders but that’s no guarantee.

However, this is considered a weak quarterback class and the teams picking ahead of Las Vegas may prefer to address other positions. The one team that will almost certainly pick a quarterback is the New York Giants and they currently hold the No. 1 pick, but they may not favor Sanders.

In a recent mock draft from Nate Tice and Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports, the Giants take Miami’s Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick and Sanders falls to the Raiders at No. 6.

“Another team with a dire quarterback situation, the Raiders opt to take Sanders to shore up that position for them,” Tice and McDonald wrote in a Dec. 26 mock draft. “They can’t walk into another season with Aidan O’Connell as their best option, even though he’s a good backup option to have moving forward.”

This would be a best-case scenario for the Raiders as they wouldn’t have to reach too high for a potential franchise quarterback and also wouldn’t have to make a trade-up.

Can Raiders Hold off on a QB for Another Year?

The Raiders may also have to consider waiting another year to address the quarterback need. The fact of the matter is that their roster isn’t close to being ready to compete in a loaded AFC West. Plus, the jury is still out on head coach Antonio Pierce.

If the plan is to keep Pierce another year, it might be better for the Raiders to roll with a veteran at quarterback in 2025. The 2026 class of quarterbacks could also be much better. The Raiders could use their first-round pick to address a position of need while filling out some other roster holes. Then whoever they draft in 2026 could be stepping into a much better situation.