Mel Kiper Jr. Has Shedeur Sanders Climbing Back Up Latest NFL Mock Draft

Who is going to draft Shedeur Sanders? With the 2025 NFL draft a little over a month away that is one of the biggest questions on everyone's minds. Sanders is behind Cam Ward in every mock draft but no one knows where he'll end up.

In February, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had Sanders sliding all the way to the No. 7 pick where he would be taken by the New York Jets. In his latest mock which was published on Tuesday morning, Kiper had Sanders climbing back up the charts.

While Kiper prefers Sanders as the pro prospect, he still has him going after Ward, who is number one on his mock draft. This time however, Kiper predicts that Sanders will be taken with the No. 3 pick by the other team that plays in the Meadowlands, the New York Giants. Kiper currently sees the Giants taking Sanders even if Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers signs with New York. Via ESPN:

"In Sanders, New York would get a super accurate passer (74.0% completion rate in 2024) who is tough as nails. Despite taking the most sacks in the FBS over the past two seasons (94), he also tied for second in touchdown passes during that time frame (64). Sanders could provide some QB stability to New York for the first time since Eli Manning was taking the snaps."

Kiper also went on First Take on Tuesday to discuss the draft and again stumped for Sanders as the best quarterback prospect available.

.@MelKiperESPN ranks Shedeur Sanders over Cam Ward as a better NFL quarterback 👀

“He dealt with NFL conditions. … You can win big in the NFL going about your business like Shedeur Sanders does.” pic.twitter.com/qqY7cnhpAW
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 18, 2025

"I have him number one, QB one all along, really since last year," Kiper explained. "Love everything about the kid. I mean people say he takes too many sacks. Yes, he has to get the ball out a tick faster, but he dealt with NFL conditions. Shannon, Stephen A., we talk about that, who had to deal with what you’re going to deal with in the NFL. What you’re going to have to survive in the NFL. He survived hit after hit. How he did it, I don’t know. He was 11 of 13 games this year at 70% or higher."

Kiper went on to praise Sanders's toughness and ability to make plays and compared his speed to that of Patrick Mahomes. It seems pretty clear who Kiper thinks should be the top pick in the draft. The question is, who agrees with him?