If you're a sports fan — or if you have any form of social media — you've probably got some sort of idea of what's happening in the 2025 NFL Draft this weekend.
Yes, the "draft slide heard 'round the world" continues into Day 3 of the NFL's draft, as Colorado quarterback — and son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — Shedeur Sanders, a widely-projected first-round pick, wasn't drafted in any of the first three rounds.
There's a lot of speculation as to why that is. Sanders reportedly gave terrible interviews at the NFL Draft Combine. He's thrown teammates under the bus before. He has a habit of taking far too many sacks. Or, if Chad Ochocinco is to be believed, maybe this is all just a giant collusion conspiracy.
Regardless of why this is happening, it's hard to say this isn't the most shocking draft slide in the history of organized sports. Recency bias is a powerful thing, but I challenge you to come up with a single example of a player as high profile as Sanders who had this precipitous of a fall from industry consensus.
The MLB Draft is a far different beast from it's NFL counterpart, but there are still some notable draft day slides for players who ended up using that chip on their shoulders to great success. While Sanders continues to wait to hear his name called, let's review some baseball players who went through something similar.
Biggest draft day slides in MLB history
Keith Hernandez, 42nd round (776th overall) in 1971
This is probably the draft slide most people think of when it comes to baseball. Again, there's really no equivalent to what's happening to Sanders, but at least the Colorado product can look up to the 1979 NL MVP as an example of a player who turned perceptions around in a hurry.
Hernandez slid to the now-defunct 42nd round of the 1971 MLB Draft because of character concerns, which mostly stemmed from his decision to sit out his senior season of high school baseball due to a disagreement with his coach about playing time.
All's well that ends well, though, as Hernandez won two World Series alongside that 1979 MVP award.
Ryne Sandberg, 20th round (511th overall) in 1978
Sandberg was a brilliant high school ballplayer who should have been picked in the first few rounds of the 1978 draft, but because of a commitment to play baseball and football at Washington State (scouts believed he was leaning towards football), he fell all the way to the 20th round.
Again, things worked out in the end, as Sandberg blossomed following a trade to the Cubs in 1981. He made 10 consecutive NL All-Star teams from 1984-93, won the 1984 NL MVP award, and is the lowest-drafted player in MLB history to win an MVP award and get inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Albert Pujols, 13th round (402nd overall) in 1999
There's a debate as to whether or not you can even technically consider what happened to Pujols a "draft slide", as his prospect credentials were heavily doubted for a long time.
As a high school senior in the Dominican Republic, he walked 55 times in 58 plate appearances. Yes, that's not a typo. He was that good (and, rumor has it other coaches were intentionally walking him in protest of his age). He then went to Maple Woods Community College and hit .461 with 22 home runs in his lone season there, establishing himself as a legitimate MLB prospect.
Of course, Pujols turned in one of the best careers of all time, becoming one of just four players in MLB history to hit 700 home runs. He'll be inducted to the Hall of Fame once he's first eligible in 2028.