The New York Giants spent a lot of time in the pre-draft process with Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, leading many experts to believe they would select him on Thursday night in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Giants had the third overall pick in this draft and there was speculation that they might take Sanders there. They took Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter instead. Then, when they traded back into the first round at Pick No. 25, it was thought once again that Sanders could be the pick.

He wasn’t. The Giants selected another quarterback: Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss.

The night ended with Sanders going undrafted. The Giants, it appears, weren’t the only team who passed on Sanders. But they’re the only ones who did it twice.

Sanders, never at a loss for words, was fully prepared to meet his moment. He even had a staging area in his home for the post-selection interview and a wall full of draft hats to choose from who his name was called.

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The call never came, though, and Sanders handled it with class, and like most, bewilderment.

“We all didn’t expect this, of course,” Sanders said in a video on social media. “But I feel like, with God, anything is possible. Everything is possible. I don’t feel like this happened for no reason. All this is, of course, fuel to the fire. We all know this shouldn’t have happened.”

Sanders will surely be selected on Friday night, perhaps right away by Cleveland, who have the first pick in Round 2.

The Giants passed on Sanders likely because he will create a splash as a rookie due to his celebrity. They wanted a rookie they can bring in and future for a season. They have veterans to handle the 2025 snaps in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.

Sanders would have to sit as a rookie. That is countercurrent to his personality and brand. The Giants decided to steer clear of that as their quarterback situation has drastically changed over the past month.

If they needed Sanders to play right away, perhaps they would’ve gone down this road. But it’s all in the past, now.