Report: Sanders not under consideration for Saints at No. 9
04/17/2025
By Ross Jackson
While the New Orleans Saints have been consistently linked to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders in this year’s NFL Draft, the rumors and speculation has always felt at least unlikely to come to fruition.
Head coach Kellen Moore didn’t attend Colorado’s pro day, the Saints never had Sanders in for a top-30 visit, and the noise coming from Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was too loud not to be doubted.
Even after the explosive Derek Carr injury news, things didn’t feel like they were really about to shift for New Orleans in the draft. The Saints have never proven to be a reactionary team, sometimes operating with too much patience.
It seems that our suspicions that the Saints weren’t enthralled with Sanders wasn’t so farfetched.
In a recent episode of NOLA.com’s Saints Insiders podcast, Times-Picayune columnist Jeff Duncan shared the intel he’s gathered surrounding the Sanders rumors.
“I have talked to people, not anybody in position to first-hand make this call,” Duncan said. “But I have talked to people that say Shedeur Sanders is not going to be under consideration at 9.”
While Duncan may not have spoken with someone that would make the decision themselves, this seems to align with the growing doubts of a Saints-Sanders partnership.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter highlighted that teams drafting a quarterback as high as the Saints would do so because they “love” the passer, not just “like” them, casting doubt that the Saints do indeed “love” Sanders.
“When you are drafting a quarterback, you are marrying him. You don’t marry a partner that you like, you marry a partner that you love.”@AdamSchefter on the Saints potentially drafting a QB with the No. 9 pick 👀 pic.twitter.com/34JYKSoJUI
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 14, 2025
SI’s Albert Breer recently cast his doubts as well.
“Anyway, I don’t think Sanders is going in the top three,” Breer wrote. “And at this point, it feels like it’d be surprising if the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets or Saints took him in the top 10.”
Where there was once smoke and a potential fire, there now looks to be only a smoldering flicker.
With that, the suspense leading up to next week’s NFL draft only grows more present. New Orleans could surprise and take a quarterback of the future (for all the doubts I have in the Saints taking him at No. 9, I still think he’s a talented quarterback). Or they could land a playmaker at another position, maximizing their flexibility with a different young quarterback later in the draft or with second-year passer Spencer Rattler.
For all the controversy involving the Saints lately, one thing they’ve done particularly well is keep their draft plans under wraps. New Orleans looks to be one of this year’s draft’s biggest mysteries as the plot thickens.