Trump questioned whether NFL owners were "stupid" for not selecting the former University of Colorado quarterback in the first round.

"The intel I got was shocking: 'This guy has no awareness about how he's coming across,' or the type of leverage he has or doesn't have," a former NFL quarterbacks coach told Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. There has also been ample reporting that Sanders didn't interview well with a number of teams:

Shedeur Sanders was the leading topic of conversation all weekend at the 2025 NFL Draft. The former Colorado star was long projected as a first-round pick, but as Thursday neared, there were rumblings he was falling down boards and potentially out of the first round.