Focus shifts to defense in NFL draft as Shedeur Sanders continues to wait

GREEN BAY, Wis. — On a night where teams focused on defense over offense, the talk around the NFL draft on Friday night was still all about the quarterbacks.

Particularly one who wasn’t drafted.

Of the 70 players selected in the second and third rounds, the defensive line and secondary accounted for exactly half. Another 11 were offensive linemen.

However, the name everyone was waiting to hear was never called, as Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was not one among the three signal-callers selected.

Instead, the New Orleans Saints took Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick, followed by the Seattle Seahawks taking Alabama’s Jalen Milroe with the 92nd pick and the Cleveland Browns going with Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel two picks later.

Shough, 25, completed a college career that spanned seven seasons and three schools. He said of his one season at Louisville, “I’ve obviously been around and seen a lot of ball and started a lot of games, but getting a full season and being able to showcase what I can was my main goal.”

Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr has a shoulder injury and his status is uncertain. Backup Spencer Rattler threw for 1,317 yards last season in seven games but went 0-6 as a starter.

Milroe passed threw for 6,016 yards and ran for another 1,577 in his four seasons at Alabama (the final two as the Crimson Tide’s starter). He accounted for 78 touchdowns in college.

The Seahawks’ quarterback room already is crowded with Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Sam Howell and Jaren Hall. Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million free agent contract in March.

Gabriel played three seasons at Central Florida, followed by two at Oklahoma and a final season at Oregon. He threw for 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns with the Ducks in 2024, his fifth season surpassing 3,000 yards. The biggest knock against him is his height (5-foot-11).

With Deshaun Watson expected to miss all or most of the 2025 season after re-rupturing an Achilles tendon, Gabriel will be competing with recently resigned 17-year veteran Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sanders, the son of NFL Hall of Famer and current Colorado coach Deion Sanders, passed for 14,347 yards with 134 touchdowns in his college career, two season at Jackson State, then two at Colorado.

Most draft analysts saw Sanders as a likely first-round pick.

The Browns had two of the first four picks in the second round. They moved to further bolster their defense, taking UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger with the first pick of the second round after selecting Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham with the fifth overall pick on Thursday.

Three picks later, Cleveland made Quinshon Judkins the first running back taken in the second round. Judkins ran for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns last season after transferring from Ole Miss. His Ohio State teammate, TreVeyon Henderson, went two picks later to the New England Patriots.

Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins was the second pick in the second round, chosen by the Houston Texans. Higgins had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards with nine touchdowns last season.

The Chicago Bears tabbed Missouri’s Luther Burden III at No. 39. Burden was considered a possible first-round pick after his junior season in 2023, when he had 86 catches for 1,212 yards, but his numbers dropped to 61 receptions for 676 yards last year.

The other two wideouts taken in the second round: Ole Miss’s Tre Harris went to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 55, and TCU’s Jake Bech was chosen by the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 58.

LSU tight end Mason Taylor, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, was taken with the 42nd pick by the New York Jets.

–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media