The Shedeur Sanders story has yet another wrinkle in it.

From being a projected top-10 pick before the 2025 NFL Draft, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders’ draft stock plummeted in the worst way.

Pick after pick. Round after round. Sanders’ name still wasn’t called. And his customized draft room was still vacant.

There were reports that he may have slipped to the second round, but no one could have predicted that the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year slipped to the fifth round.

The Cleveland Browns were rumored to go after Sanders early on in the draft, given their never-ending quarterback search, but as he continued to drop in the Draft, Cleveland opted to go for Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

That put Sanders’ NFL outlook in question.

He was going to find himself on an NFL team, whether he gets drafted or not, but the guaranteed money starts to dwindle and the climb up the depth chart gets even harder no matter who picks him up.

There were reports that in the fifth round with the 141st pick, the Baltimore Ravens were honing in on taking Sanders, potentially giving Lamar Jackson an intriguing back up.

But since the road to the starting role was incredibly bleak behind the two-time MVP, Sanders nixed it.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote, “Sanders knew that Jackson, a two-time MVP and one of the top players in the league, was not going to be losing his job as Baltimore's starting quarterback anytime soon. So the message was conveyed to the Ravens that Sanders did not want to be drafted by Baltimore and preferred to end up in a place where he might have a better chance to play sooner.”

Baltimore then ended up taking offensive lineman Carson Vinson.

You can’t say that Sanders lacks confidence.

A fifth round quarterback starting games in the NFL takes a serious amount of time, and it’s by no means a guarantee – no matter who your father is.

As he continues to navigate his way through the pros, Sanders doesn’t even seem to be getting meaningful reps in practice.

ESPN Cleveland’s only Rizzo reported on his radio show that even as a third stringer behind Joe Flacco and Gabriel, he isn’t running scout team – which is typically what third-stringers do

"I'm hearing Shedeur isn't even running scout team, he's literally watching everyone... why is he on the team, why is he here?”

It’s a valid question to be asked.

There’s no doubt that Sanders has rubbed people the wrong way with his unwavering confidence, and the flash he exudes on the field. But from the customized draft room, to turning down getting drafted by a perennial contender and not wanting to back up one of the better quarterbacks in the league, you have to wonder if Sanders understands the target he’s put on his back.

It’s a mans league, and NFL linemen aren’t very forgiving. Should Sanders ever see the field as an NFL starting quarterback, he may be in line for a reality check.