How Patriots’ Eliot Wolf Reacted To Shedeur Sanders’ Slide In NFL Draft

FOXBORO, Mass. — Shedeur Sanders was never going to be drafted by the Patriots.

New England executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, however, admitted to being taken aback by the quarterback’s dramatic slide in the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders remains available entering Day 3, which will feature Rounds 4-7 starting Saturday at noon ET.

“It’s surprising,” Wolf said at Gillette Stadium on Friday night. “We evaluated him. I had the opportunity to watch him play against Oklahoma State this year, and they killed Oklahoma State, so it maybe wasn’t the best game to look at. But it was interesting to see that he’s still available, and I’m sure there’s going to be a fit for him here tomorrow.”

Remember when Sanders was thought to be in play for the New York Giants third overall? Patriots fans who hoped Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter would fall to them because of Sanders probably feel silly.

Five quarterbacks — Cam Ward (Titans), Jaxson Dart (Giants), Tyler Shough (Saints), Jalen Milroe (Seahawks) and Dillon Gabriel (Browns) — were selected during the first three rounds. It served as the single-biggest storyline of the NFL draft, something neither analysts nor evaluators like Wolf can understand.

Fortunately for the Patriots, they won’t be subject to the same criticism as other teams given Drake Maye is firmly entrenched as the franchise signal-caller.