This year’s NFL draft is over, and for many it will go down as one of the most unforgettable yet. Even though Kevin Costner isn’t really out there trading three first-round picks to draft a 200-pound Chadwick Boseman to play linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, the NFL draft still finds a way to deliver chaos. While the general managers like the fictitious Sonny Weaver Jr. are the ones pulling the strings, it is the players’ stories that shape how we remember the draft. Let’s look back at some of the most unforgettable draft day moments that have reshaped careers, as well as the landscape of the NFL.
2025: Shedeur Sanders – From Top Five to Round Five
Shedeur Sanders entered the 2025 NFL Draft with high expectations. After finishing his final season at the University of Colorado with 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns, many expected him to be a first-round pick. He was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and also received the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He had his number retired in Boulder, along with his Heisman Trophy-winning teammate, Travis Hunter. ESPN’s Mel Kiper had Sanders slated as the best quarterback in this year’s draft pool.
A big concern in the off-season surrounding Sanders was his outspoken father, NFL Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders. Deion Sanders coached his son at Colorado and has been quite vocal in the media in assessing where his son should and shouldn’t be drafted to. Despite concerns about Deion Sanders’ influence, many still believed Sanders would be taken in the first round.
However, as the draft unfolded, everything changed. Teams that were expected to take quarterbacks this season like the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers all passed Sanders through the early rounds. After waiting until day three, Sanders finally heard his name called, getting drafted 144th overall to the Browns in the fifth round. There were five quarterbacks taken before him.
As he fell down the board, horror stories of his pre-draft interviews surfaced, which is believed to have played a major role in why he slipped so far out of the early rounds. Cleveland possesses a history riddled with quarterback inconsistency, and in a quarterback room where no one’s job is safe right now, Shedeur Sanders will have a chance to prove the critics wrong.
2005: Aaron Rodgers – Childhood Dreams Crushed
Aaron Rodgers was one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation ahead of the 2005 NFL Draft. Playing for The University of California, Berkeley, Rodgers dominated in the Pac-10 Conference (now the Pac-12), finishing with 2,566 yards and 24 touchdowns in his junior season. Rodgers was a childhood San Francisco 49ers fan, who coincidentally had the No. 1 pick in the draft. It should have been the perfect script, as Rodgers was projected to be taken first overall.
When the 49ers passed on Rodgers in favor of Alex Smith, it triggered one of the most shocking draft slides in NFL history. Organization after organization chose to address other needs in their roster besides quarterback, leaving Rodgers stranded in the green room for hours. He was finally selected as the 24th pick by the Green Bay Packers, who already had NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre under center. Favre was one of the best quarterbacks in the league at the time and still had plenty of gas in the tank.
Three years later, Rodgers finally got his chance, becoming the starter after Favre departed from the team. He would go on to earn four MVP awards and win the Super Bowl with the Packers in 2011. While his career didn’t get off to the start he had in mind, he will go down as one of the most talented quarterbacks the league has ever seen. Who knows if he could have achieved those heights without the chip on his shoulder of being passed on or the years of mentorship behind Favre.
2004: Eli Manning – The Swap
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning celebrates his touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ballard in the last minute of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Eli Manning’s draft day story began before he ever entered the green room. Eli was part of a lineage of football royalty, as the Mannings are often referred to as “The First Family of Football.” His father, Archie Manning, was a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Saints in the ‘70s, while his brother, Peyton Manning, was six years into what would go down as a Hall of Fame career as quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. With this pedigree, the Manning family made it clear that if the San Diego Chargers, who had the No. 1 overall pick, selected Eli, he would not play for them.
The Chargers did not heed this warning, and selected Eli anyways. Within minutes, a trade was processed that sent Eli to the Giants in exchange for Phillip Rivers (the No. 4 overall pick) and a handful of draft picks, including a pick that would become future First-Team All-Pro selection, Shawne Merriman, who the Chargers selected 12th overall in 2005.
This has gone down as one of the most impactful draft day decisions in NFL history, as it completely altered both players’ and franchises’ futures. Eli Manning went on to lead the Giants to two Super Bowls, both against the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady. He was named the Super Bowl MVP of both campaigns, forever cementing his legacy as one of the most clutch players in NFL history. Although Rivers also had a successful career, the Chargers were never able to find success on the playoff stage, leaving his Hall of Fame case up for debate.
1986: Bo Jackson – Never Trust a Pirate
Bo Jackson was already one of the greatest athletes the world had ever seen entering the 1986 NFL Draft. He won the Heisman Trophy as a running back from Auburn and was the consensus No. 1 overall prospect. Jackson had it all; speed, strength, agility and a jaw-dropping highlight reel. But Jackson wasn’t just a phenom on the gridiron; he was also one of the best college baseball players in the country. As a power bat outfielder with a cannon for an arm, Jackson had drawn the attention of many MLB scouts.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the first pick in the draft and made it clear they intended to draft Jackson and build their future around him. The Bucs flew Jackson to their facilities on a private jet and told him it was cleared by the NCAA. However, the gesture was in fact a violation of NCAA rules and ultimately cost him his senior season of baseball. Jackson believed the Bucs had done this intentionally, to force him to go to the NFL over the MLB. Feeling betrayed, Jackson vowed that if he was drafted to Tampa Bay, he would not sign.
Despite the warning, the Buccaneers drafted him anyway. Staying true to his word, Jackson walked away and chose baseball over football. During his MLB career, Jackson had some of baseball’s most incredible highlight plays. Whether he was making frozen rope throws from the corner of the outfield or hitting towering homeruns, Jackson always stole the show. He played in the 1989 MLB All-Star Game, where he was named the game’s MVP.
A year after turning down the NFL, Jackson gave football another chance when the Los Angeles Raiders selected him in the seventh round of the 1987 draft. He agreed to sign with the team on a part-time basis, becoming one of the rare dual-sport professional athletes. He was named as a Pro Bowler in 1990 and was clearly one of the most gifted athletes in the sport, despite only playing four NFL seasons. His limited career makes Jackson one of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history.