Will Cain Country - Pete Prisco: Why Shedeur Sanders Fell Out of Round One

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

On this edition of The Will Cain Show’s Friday sports episode, Will is joined by CBS Sports Senior NFL Columnist, Pete Prisco to break down the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They dive into the Jaguars’ bold move for Travis Hunter, whether the Giants reached for Jaxson Dart, and why Shedeur Sanders fell out of the first round entirely. They preview rounds two and three tonight, including which receivers, running backs, and late-round gems could define this draft.  Plus, Will monologues on why he believes the NFL Draft is one of the best sports nights of the year. Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing [e-mail] Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wake up, unwrap your presence, you have a new player thanks to the NFL draft. It's the Will Kane show streaming live every Monday through Thursday at 12 o'clock Eastern time at Fox News.com on the Fox News YouTube channel and the Fox News Facebook page. Always available by subscribing at Apple or on Spotify, as is this episode of Kane on Sports. NFL Draft. Today, I'm joined by CBS Sports, senior NFL columnist Pete Prisco to go over the first round of the NFL draft and the best available players in rounds two and three. You know, I love it, so you need to get a little bit of my analysis here, heading into rounds two and three Friday night of the NFL draft.

I think rounds two and three are chock full of value, some of whom we thought would go in the first round when it comes to the position of cornerback. Will Johnson from Michigan, many thought would be a first round pick. There are reports out he's not that fast, so that hurts in man-to-man cover. But if it's not Will Johnson, you still have Chavon Ravelle, who is recovering from some injury,

but many suspected be a first-round pick. Trey Amos from Ole Miss, another corner available out there if your team needs help in the secondary. Then there's wide receiver, several wide receivers that I like, including some that you thought might go in the first round like Missouri's Luther Burden. Jaden Higgins and Jalen Knoll from Iowa State, Trey Harris from Ole Miss, Jalen Royals from Utah State, Jack Beck from TCU. There are players to grab here on night two that can change your team. And then there's the running back. I hope the Cowboys come away with a running back. But the odd thing about running back is this might be something you can wait until Saturday for.

There's a lot of names, a lot of guys. Still, on Friday night, we're going to be watching. Who takes both Ohio State running backs? Trevionn Henderson and Quinchon Junkins. Caleb Johnson from Iowa. And then as we get into Saturday, you're going to have a ton of backs. Dylan Samson from Tennessee. Devin Neal from Kansas.

R.J. Harvey from UCF. Taj Brooks from Texas Tech. It's going to be a fun night because this is when you win. Just like in your fantasy draft, in the first round, you can really only lose. You have to hit on your first round pick. I think that pushes you towards safe unless there's an obvious home run swing. But in rounds two, three, and four, that's when you swing for the fences. That's when you get the value.

That's where you look back and say that's what made us a playoff and maybe even Super Bowl team. here is cbssports.com, Pete Prisco. From the Fox News Podcasts Network. Hey there, it's me, Kennedy, make sure to check out my podcast. Kennedy saves the world. It is five days a week, every week. Download and listen at Fox Newspodcast.com or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Hey, I'm Trey Gowdy host of the Trey Gatti podcast.

I hope you will join me every Tuesday and Thursday as we navigate life together and hopefully find ourselves a little bit better on the other side. Listen and follow now at foxnewspodcast.com. Senior NFL columnist at CBSports.com, Pete Priscoe, is here with us on the Will Cane Show. Pete, great to see you. Thanks for getting up with us this morning after the first round of the NFL draft. Let's start, I think, with the drama, the biggest story, the biggest move, the biggest bet. It is the Jacksonville Jaguar's trading up to pick number two to take Travis Hunter.

I don't know who made the bigger bet. the cornerback wide receiver out of Colorado is sort of a two-for, two-for-one player here. You draft with the second overall pick. So I don't know who made the bigger bet. The Brown's trading out of getting a cornerback wide receiver in Hunter or what the Jags traded to move up and grab this guy. Some say might be, I don't know, the Shohei Otani of the NFL. Yeah, and look, he is the best player in the draft. I don't think there's any question about that.

To me, he was the cleanest, best player in the draft. And forget the fact that he can play both ways, because he's not going to play both ways like he did at Colorado. From what I understand, they're going to play him at wide receiver, primarily at wide receiver, and they will spot him in at cornerback. Third long situations, goal line situations, he'll probably get 15, 20 plays at defensive back.

But he's the best wide receiver in the draft, and he's also the best quarterback in the draft. And he's the Heisman Trophy winner. And if you're the Jacksonville Jaguars and you look at your history and that franchise, and believe me, I covered them for a long time, they've been beat down for a long time. They don't get a lot of recognition. This was a move you had to make. You have to go get the best player in the draft.

You have to get the marquee kid. He's from up the road in Georgia. And it just works and it fits and it made sense. Did they give up a lot? Absolutely. But sometimes to go get a great player, you have to give up future draft picks. I think it's the right move for them. What they essentially gave up, Pete,

was a second round pick this year and a first round pick next year. And I was listening to an argument for Travis Hunter, and you undercutted a little bit with how much you think he will play on defense, but it was extremely compelling argument about Travis Hunter in that literally are you getting two players for one. So what's it matter giving up a first round pick next year

if, say, you were still in need of a cornerback. You got him and you got a. first round quality wide receiver, the best at both positions in this draft. And if he plays more than what you just described, Pete, if he plays a little more defense, he breaks the all expectations of budget and salary cap management in the NFL. Like, what are we going to pay a guy that checks two boxes on your roster? The reason I bring that up is not to project forward to whatever his next contract will look like, but what he's worth in draft capital. And if he is truly worth a starting cornerback and a starting wide receiver, I have no problem with what the Jags did in giving

up that capital. I'm actually more fascinated why the Browns would not see it the same way. And maybe it's because of what you just said. You're not actually getting two for one. You're getting one and a half for one or whatever it may be. I'm not getting a full corner or a full receiver. Well, I think they're thinking, and this is just to be speculating, and I've heard this from talking to people, nobody said it right to my face.

but they're thinking is they look at the draft next year. And you could acquire assets and try and maneuver the draft next year. And I think they're eyeing next year's draft because I think it can be a good quarterback draft. And, you know, they can get Watson off the books. And so when you look at it, next year's draft, much better quarterback class than this year's. And they didn't have a conviction, obviously, on a quarterback. So if you're sitting there and you say, okay, let me get this first round pick next year.

I get more picks. I can maybe maneuver this board at the top of the second and get some more picks. Then next year, if we win six, seven games, eight games or whatever, and you're not in positioned to get the top quarterback, if you have the extra picks, maybe you could go up and get the top quarterback. So I think you look at the last game, you know, whether Archmanning comes out, who knows. But, you know, you have Nussmeyer at LSU. You have Sellers at South Carolina.

You have Levitt at Arizona State. And then there's going to be guys that emerge and move up as. kind of like what Cam Moore did. So I think next year's draft class maybe is the reason they made that move with an eye on getting in the top quarterback next year. Oh, that is absolutely fascinating. Now, I've had conversations on this program about this. I don't believe, but you'll never know until it's time, that Archmanning will be in next year's draft.

But I do believe when Archmanning comes out, it's going to be sort of a draft buster, meaning will teams tank, will they try to gather assets like you just described in the Browns to get up and grab Arch Manning. And I was going to ask you, and you already began the answer of if it's not Arch, though, who is it? And I've heard a lot about LSU's Garrett and Usmeyer. But there's always that late riser to your point. But at the same time, Pete, I really honestly haven't heard that many great things about

Cam Ward as an NFL prospect. I've had a lot of people on this program to talk about it. And it's not about him as a person and it's not about his college story. Everybody loves it. Zero star to first overall pick. What an awesome story. seems like a great kid. But I just had a lot of doubters here, Pete, that, like, this is an NFL starter, much less a number one overall pick that saves the franchise for the Tennessee

Titans. Well, I'll be honest, I didn't love this quarterback class at all. I've said it through that the entire process. I, you know, normally you look at the quarterback class and you say there's one, two, three guys, you go, yeah, I love that guy. I didn't love any of them. None. Would I use the first round pick on Cam Ward? At some point, probably. Would I've used the first overall pick on them? No. In fact, I did what they should mock draft last week. And I said the Titan should take Travis Hunter. You don't pass on a generational player to force the quarterback. And I think they're forcing the quarterback. You know, it was the same thing with Shador Sanders. And people said, well, he's got to go in the first round. No, you don't. They didn't force the quarterback.

The Giants forced the quarterback by going back in and getting Jackson dart. So I didn't love this class. I would be more comfortable taking Kyle McCord late in the second or in the third or Quinn Ewers in the third and take my chances with one of those guys, then I would be taking Cam Ward or Shador Sanders or Jackson Dart in the first round. That's just me. So I'm with you. I think there's a lot to like about his game. There's a lot to pick a part about Cam Ward's game.

He's loose with the football. He's got a little nonchalant way about him the way he plays the game. He holds the ball. He turns, you know, it's supposed to be one, two, three, four, and he'll go one, two, get out of there, even though the pocket's clean, scramble around, go outside, make a play and throw the ball down the field. Everybody goes, wow, look at that great throw. But the reality is it's a negative play. He's supposed to stay in that pocket and go through your progressions. So I think you're spot on. There's a lot of concern about him. And I think that the Tennessee Titans kind

of forced the pick because they're in that situation with the no man's land with the quarterback position. But you're not alone, Pete. I have had a lot of people talk about Kyle McCord. I've had a lot of people say, that's actually the interesting quarterback in this draft. I've honestly heard also a quarterback that could go much later in Curtis O'Rourke from Indiana. Like those two guys have received more praise in just conversations on this program than, for example, Shador Sanders. Shador's so divisive. And I don't mean that in like the politically charged term of divisiveness. There is his fame and his father and all those things add to the drama. And he is the drama. But he's divisive in that there's all these reports that he didn't interview well.

He tanked in his interview with the Giants. He's actually a better quarterback, something than say Jackson Dart in terms of his football IQ. But there's just concern all over, Shador Sanders. How big is the concern, Pete? Like, how far will he drop? We begin round two tonight and round three. He will certainly be to pick tonight on day two of the draft. But how deep into the night?

That's a good question because, you know, the Browns have. two picks at the top. But, you know, when I was talking to people with the Browns, I didn't get the sense that they loved him. So, and they, you know, so I don't think they'll take him there. Now, I could be wrong, but I just, just my sense. And by the way, Kyle McCord went to the same high school as Kevin Stafaskey, just to put that out there in case anybody's wondering. Kyle McCord, to me, you know, I like Kyle McCord. He stands in. He makes the throws. He's a tough kid. He can drive the ball down the field, have more big plays down the field. When I watch Sanders. I come away from his tape, forget about the father stuff because, you know, I've heard

people say, well, they didn't draft him because they're afraid of the father. What are he afraid of his father for? You think an NFL team is going to be afraid of Dion Sanders? Give me a break. You know, and then people say, well, you're not going to criticize them because you don't want to get the wrath of Dion Sanders. Why criticize them throughout the whole process? If he wants to say something to me, go ahead and say, you know what I mean? It's ridiculous. The truth gets out and people don't want to hear it. I don't like him as a prospect for a couple reasons. One, He holds the football a lot. Two, you look at traits.

Is he big? No. Does he have a great arm? No, it's a good arm. Does he, is he athletic in terms of being able to move and run? He's okay, but he's not special. There's nothing special about him. And I think the NFL people looked at it and they said, you're right.

There's nothing special about him. And so are we going to pick him in the first round? And the answer to that they clearly sent the message was no. Now it becomes, do you take him early in the second round? And I think there's a chance he could slip a little bit in the second round. To me, he has the look and feel of a backup quarterback in the NFL. That's what he looks like to me. Could he be a spot starter here and there?

Absolutely. But is he a long-term franchise-changing quarterback? And the answer to me is no. All right, a couple quick questions on the first round. Then I want to project forward into round two and three. In your mind, what is your favorite pick of the first round? And you can say this, I always ask this question, and I listen to people that ask this question. It's interesting how people that answer it go.

They either say their player that they like the best, or they say sort of the value that they like the best. Like, I love that this guy fell to this spot, and it's a great value for the team. Which is your favorite player in the first round? Well, I mean, take Travis Hunter out of the equation because I think that was a great move. but let's move to the back end of the first round. I think the Buffalo Bill is getting Maxwell Hairston is a great move on their part. He's my, aside from Hunter, who's, you know, really not a corner, but you count him, he'd be the best corner. He's my number one corner.

I think when you look at him and you look at what the bills needed, they needed to address that position, and they go get a guy who can play man to man. Now, the bills don't play a ton of man in that defense, but he can do it. He's a willing tackle. He's not a great tackler, but he will tackle. And I think they had to get a playmaker on the back end. That's a great pick. The second pick at the back end of the first round that I love was Simmons to the Chiefs.

I think Simmons is the best offensive tackle in this class. If he were healthy and didn't have the meniscus injury, and there are some people that are concerned about the maturity. But talking to people around the league, I think that's kind of overblown a little bit. He would have been the first tackle pick. The Chiefs take them. And now what do you do? You sign Jalen Moore so he can be.

your left tackle for a year, as Simmons gets healthy and understands the NFL game, then you plug and play him at left tackle. He's the most athletic tackle in this trap. He's 320 pounds and he runs like he's 250 pounds. I'm telling you, the Chiefs nailed up by getting Simmons. More of the Will Kane show right after this. Listen to the all-new Brett Bear podcast featuring Common Ground, in-depth talks with lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle, along with all your Brett Bear favorites like his All-Star panel and much more. Available now at foxnewspodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

It is time to take the quiz. It's five questions in less than five minutes. We ask people on the streets of New York City to play along. Let's see how you do. Take the quiz every day at thequiz.com. Then come back here to see how you did. Thank you for taking the quiz. Okay, in the first round, which pick surprise you or you disliked the most?

And I'm going to go ahead and lay a tad bit of runway. One of your answers could be, unfortunately, the Dallas Cowboys. I knew that Tyler Booker would go at number 12 because I have friends who are Cowboys Insiders, and they told me it will be McMillan or it will be Booker. Now, the reason the answer could be Cowboys is he's probably the biggest reach on most people's, quote-unquote, consensus big board. I saw him on most big boards in the 50s and the Cowboys take him at 12. others go no big boards are stupid i know what teams thought and teams liked him in the top 20

but he's still a guard and guards don't usually go at premium draft picks so your answer could be the cowboys but if not i am curious which pick you last night was the head scratcher there always is a head scratcher which team went off the board the furthest according to pete prisco well i i actually like booker by the way i'm in the minority on that one i thought he was at one point i put out of tweet, I thought he might end up being the best offensive lineman in the draft class. I thought he's a mauler, and he's physical. He has to be in the right scheme.

He's not a mover. He can't get out and move. He's not a, you know, he's a big physical guy, but he doesn't have great athletic ability. In the cowboy scheme, it'll work. He will be a physical, dominant guard for them for a long time. And remember, when they picked Frederick back in a day, everybody pan that pick. I remember,

I look back at it. I gave that grade an A. I love that pick. When they did it, he ended up being a good story. And by the way, Pete, everybody panned the Tyler Smith pick, and he's like a two-time all pro now at Guard for the Cowboys. They're pretty good at finding offensive linemen. Yeah, that was another one I liked. I usually get those offensive linemen right. So I have no real problem.

12 is a little high for a guard, but the way the game is played now with so many, and you look, you've got to play the Eagles. You've got to block those interior guys. You've got to block Jalen Carter. If you're going to beat the Eagles, you better block Jalen Carter. And so I think, you know, the game is kind of evolved where the guard's value has gone up. You look at the money the guards are making now. value's clearly gone up. So that's kind of gone out the window. So I do like that pick.

I didn't like the dark pick. I don't like coming back in and get dark. And I think he's a second rounder and you go back in. It's quarterback panic time. That's what I call that when a team is sitting there. And I know Brian Davel liked him. I know that was his pick. But, you know, to compare him to Josh Allen, I don't see it. Look, I don't see, you know, I think in that offense, it's a different offense. He's going to have to learn to play quarterback in the NFL. It's going to have to sit for a little bit. That one bother me as much as any of them. Okay, let's look forward, not just backwards.

Actually, Friday night is my favorite night of the three days of the NFL draft. Rounds two and three are actually the most fun. So let's start with this. In your mind, give me the three to five best players available starting the draft tonight on Friday. Well, I think Henderson, Trevion Henderson is going to go at some point in the top of the second round. You know, when you talk to a lot of the scouts and personnel people, and you watch his tape, look, he can do everything. He can run it.

He can catch it. And he's a good blocker in pass protection. And that's something that you, you know, a lot of teams, when you talk to about running backs, that's something they keep an eye on. So I think he goes in the top 10 here. I think there's a chance Mason Taylor, the tight end from LSU, could go into the top 10. He's another guy that I thought might go at the back end of the first round, didn't, but he's got great past

catching ability. I think he's going to go in the spot. I think you look at the defensive ends, you know, the kid from B.C. I think he could go here. I think Tulumalo from Ohio States, another kid that some people thought could be a first rounder. And then you look at the linebacker from UCLA.

Schweringer, I think is the way he pronounced the name, but he's a guy, if you look at the Browns, they have injury issues at linebacker. He just fits Cleveland. If you look at If you look at Cleveland over the year, Clay Matthews, you know, he just fits Cleveland. He's one of those tough guy linebackers that just would make sense there.

So I think those are some of the possibilities. Jaden Higgins, the wide receiver from Iowa State's another guy that could go in that area. This is Jason Chaffetz from the Jason and the House podcast. Join me every Monday to dive deeper into the latest political headlines and chat with remarkable guests. Listen and follow now at foxnewspodcast.com or wherever you download podcasts. I'm Janice Dean. Join me every Sunday as I focus on stories of hope and people who are truly rays of sunshine in their community and across the world. Listen and follow now at Fox Newspodcast.com.

Okay, what do you think, though, about a couple of guys that were projected to go in the first round? Let's try this. Luther Burton, you didn't mention him. You mentioned Jaden Higgins over him as the next sort of sparkling item out there on the wide receiver aisle. So I'm going to ask you about some players like Burden real quick who many thought would go in the first round but what I want to set myself up for Pete is like what do you think the run is? Do you think there will be a quick run then on wide receivers because it's burden, it's Higgins, it's Noel, maybe Jack Beck, Kyle Williams from Washington State.

There's a group of wide receivers sort of together here. How long will they last before the run? And I think that also applies to running back, not just Henderson, but Judkins and Caleb Johnson, are those runs going to happen in the second in the first half of the second? Like, when are those two positions exhausted on that next tier of players? Yeah, I think you'll see a run on the receivers in the backs at the top of the second round. You mentioned those wide receivers. You know, you asked me about burden. Burden, to me, time fast doesn't play as fast. You also hear some talk that he won the great practice

player. And, you know, that's concerned some teams as well, which I think may have pushed them down the board a little bit. But if you get with the right team and the right staff and bring him in, then he has a chance to become a productive NFL player. I just, I'm a little more concerned about the way he plays speed-wise. I know he time well, but, you know, there are guys that time well and don't play fast. He's one of them for me. But I do think you'll see a little run on the receivers. I think you'll see a little run on the backs, too. Tutton is another one out of Virginia Tech that could go in this second round explosive running back fast guy really you know he fumbled a little bit at Virginia Tech which is a concern to some teams but we put on his tape you talk about

home run ability man he can get it and go and teams are always looking for that so I think you're pretty spot on I also think the defensive ends are going to go at the top of this you know that that group I talked about from BC you know Toulomalo from Ohio State you know Mike green still there. Now, Mike Green, some people had Mike Green in the first round. I didn't. There are, you know, some issues about character, some stuff that happened. He admitted it off the field. And so we'll see where he goes. But he's got, you know, that kind of talent to go in this area as well. All right. Last question. Cowboys specific, selfish. I play this game in my head all the time. With going offensive line in the first round, what the Cowboys put themselves in the position here of

is having three, four, five positions of need. The guard wasn't probably at the top of the list. And they only have two picks tonight to check those needs off. Those needs are running back, wide receiver, defensive tackle. Those are the three, I would say, biggest needs. And you only have two picks to fill. And they don't have a fourth round picks. Their next opportunity is all the way in the fifth.

So if you're looking at those three positions, actually I need to add a fourth, cornerback. So that's four positions of dire need for the Cowboys with only two picks to fill. So the other two, they're going to have to work on it in the fifth or through a trade, either with a veteran or get back into the draft somehow. So what would you do in terms of looking at the board, the deepest positions, the biggest talents available, in checking off those four boxes? Which would you check off with two picks? I would get a speed

receiver. I would add, you know, and like I'm in the minority, I think they need to start using Turpin more at wide receiver. I really do. I mean, look, he's not a great receiver, but he runs. And when you run, teams get scared to your speed. They need somebody else to help balance the field a little more. So in this draft, I would look for one of those receivers. I would also get a defensive tackle. Let's be real. That's been a problem for them for a long time. There's a guy there that I love. Jamari called well, played at Houston, went to Oregon, played next to Harmon. When I started the process, and I come to the draft process, I watch games all week, you know, during the season. I watch them on TV, but when I get into the tape

process, I can start watching guys. I started watching Harmon at Oregon. And I kept going to number 90. And 55 is Harmon. I kept going to 90. And I kept going to 90. And I go, wait a second. Who is he? And I went back and I looked it up and I went and watched all his games. And I'm telling you, Jamarie Caldwell is 6-2, 330 pounds, probably needs to lose a little weight and can move and plays hard and he's tough. If the Cowboys could get a guy like that, that would be something that could really upgrade their defense. So I would probably lean more to a wide receiver to kind of balance the field and then also defensive tackle. I hope running back is deep then, or you're to relying on Giovante. Williams. I hope they can find one in the fifth.

There's a lot of guys. There are a lot of backs. I mean, you, you, Texas Tech, you get that little back from Texas Tech. You get him late in the draft. You got, you know, the kid from Central Florida, Harvey, you get him later. You got the kid that can catch the ball out of the back field from SMU, Smith. There's a million backs. You can, I'm telling you, they don't need to force the back. They can wait to the fifth to get the back. I love it. I love the conversation with Pete Prisco. Always good to talk to you. Thank you for your time. Excited about the draft here tonight. Excide to hear your analysis, Pete Prisco.

Thank you. You got it. Take care, Will. There you go. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Pete Prisco. Tune in tonight for rounds two and three, and then Saturday, rounds four through seven of the NFL draft. I'll see you next time.

Listen to ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcast. And Amazon Prime members, you can listen to this show, ad-free on the Amazon Music app. It is time to take the quiz. It's five questions in less than five minutes. We ask people on the streets of New York City to play along. Let's see how you do. Take the quiz every day at thequiz.com.

Then come back here to see how you did. Thank you for taking the quiz.