GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) 鈥 The wait continues for Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who was widely viewed as a first-round talent but was still available midway through the third round of the NFL draft on Friday.
It was a stunning fall for Sanders, who garnered so much attention over the last several months that his slide to the draft鈥檚 second day was the dominant storyline of the NFL鈥檚 spring extravaganza and even caught the attention of President Donald Trump.
In a post on on Friday, Trump criticized teams for not selecting Sanders and said the quarterback鈥檚 鈥淧HENOMENAL GENES鈥 made him 鈥渁ll set for Greatness.鈥 And that was before the second round came and went with Sanders' name still on the board.
Sanders spent the last four seasons playing for his outspoken, at times polarizing father 鈥 Hall of Famer Deion 鈥淐oach Prime鈥 Sanders 鈥 first at Jackson State and later at Colorado. He finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season while throwing for a school-record 4,134 yards and helping Colorado go 9-4.
Sanders initially was rated by some draft analysts as a better QB prospect than Miami鈥檚 Cam Ward, who ultimately went No. 1 overall to Tennessee. But as the draft drew closer, concerns began to emerge.
One issue: Sanders was sacked 94 times over his last two college seasons. There also were worries about his arm strength and questions about how well he would adapt to playing for someone other than his dad. And given his high profile, teams might be reluctant to pick him if they view him as a backup.
Only two quarterbacks have been taken since Ward went No. 1 overall.
For a few moments Thursday, it appeared Sanders鈥 wait might be over when the New York Giants traded up to the 25th pick, but the team .
The lone quarterback selection in the second round came when New Orleans passed on Sanders in favor of Tyler Shough, a 25-year-old who finished his college career at Louisville after making stops at Oregon and Texas Tech. Shough was chosen 40th overall.
Saints veteran quarterback Derek Carr has what general manager Mickey Loomis described as leaving his availability uncertain heading into offseason workouts.
Cleveland had two of the first four picks in the second round and has a clear need at quarterback after the team got little production out of Deshaun Watson, who will miss the upcoming season with a torn Achilles tendon. Kenny Pickett and 40-year-old Joe Flacco are the Browns' current QBs.
Yet the Browns selected UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger at No. 33 and Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins at No. 36.
Pittsburgh was considered a potential landing spot for Sanders, who visited the Steelers' facility before the draft. The Steelers' only quarterbacks are Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson following the offseason departures of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
The Steelers took Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon with the 21st overall pick Thursday. They didn't have a second-round pick, but Sanders was still available when their turn came again in the third round.
Pittsburgh instead used the 83rd overall pick on Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson.
Sanders didn鈥檛 travel to Green Bay for the draft. Instead, he watched the proceedings with his family in Canton, Texas.
鈥淲e all didn鈥檛 expect this of course, but I feel like with God, anything鈥檚 possible, everything鈥檚 possible,鈥 Sanders said in a video posted on YouTube Thursday night, adding: 鈥淭omorrow鈥檚 the day. We鈥檙e going to be happy regardless.鈥
Another player regarded as a potential first-round selection had a longer wait than expected. Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, who was in the green room during Thursday's first round, went to the Arizona Cardinals in the second round with the 47th overall pick.
A reported knee issue caused Johnson鈥檚 stock to fall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just frustrating,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淚 know what I鈥檓 dealing with, and I know I鈥檓 healthy and I know how my body feels. I鈥檓 just going to go out there and show that on Sundays and show everybody what they missed out on.鈥
The second round featured several trades.
Seattle and Miami traded up to get picks early in the round. The Seahawks chose South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori with the 35th overall pick. The Dolphins took Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea at No. 37.
Buffalo moved up 16 spots to take South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders at No. 41. The Bills dealt their 56th, 62nd and 109th picks to Chicago while getting the Bears' 72nd and 240th picks in return.
T.J. Sanders will have an immediate opportunity to make an impact with offseason free-agent addition Larry Ogunjobi expected to miss the first six games for violating the NFL鈥檚 performance-enhancing drug policy.
The second round also included the selection of three more players from national champion Ohio State, which had four players taken in the first round. The Buckeyes' running back tandem went early in the second round, with Judkins followed by TreVeyon Henderson, who went 38th overall to New England. Indianapolis took edge rusher JT Tuimoloau at No. 45.
played at Ohio State.
___
AP NFL:
