NFL draft stunner: Free-falling Shedeur Sanders still waiting for a team to come calling

Plenty of playmakers remain for teams to pick through Saturday in the NFL draft's final four rounds, Shedeur Sanders stunningly among them.

Sanders is the biggest name still on the board more than 48 hours after he was widely expected to hear his name called, a spectacular slide for a quarterback who has gotten snubbed through 102 selections so far.

Even before plunging through Day 2 on Friday, the former Colorado star's plight caught the attention of the White House.

In a post on his Truth Social platform Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump criticized teams for not selecting Sanders on Day 1 and suggested he should be picked immediately in Round 2.

NFL franchises, however, plucked 70 more players from the college ranks and left Sanders still waiting for his phone to ring.

Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward were considered the top two passing prospects in this year's draft with some analysts even rating Sanders higher than Ward, whom the Tennessee Titans made the top overall pick Thursday night.

Four other quarterbacks have leap-frogged Sanders. In a surprise in the first round, the Giants took Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss. And in Round 2, the Saints selected Louisville's Tyler Shough, who began his college career at Oregon in 2018 and who will be 26 in September, and two more QBs went in the third round: Alabama's Jalen Milroe to the Seahawks and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel to the Browns.

At best, Sanders will be the sixth QB drafted in 2025, and he won't even be the first Sanders selected. That honor went to South Carolina defensive tackle T.J. Sanders (no relation), who went 41st overall in Round 2 to Buffalo.

One possible reason cited for Shedeur Sanders' slide is his size — 6-foot-1, which is short for a QB by today's standards — and yet, Gabriel is even shorter at 5-11 and 201 pounds, 15 pounds lighter than Sanders, who's an accurate thrower and quick processor but who took a combined 94 sacks in his two seasons in Boulder.

One team that isn't looking for a quarterback after finally landing one a year ago is the Denver Broncos, and their coach, Sean Payton, expressed dismay at Sanders' slide into Day 3 of this year's draft.

“There will be this chip on his shoulder and beware because this guy's going to play in this league," Payton said. "... yeah, I think it's surprising.”

Sanders is the highest-ranked player left on the board of several draft analysts, including the NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, who has him as the 20th-ranked prospect, and ESPN senior writer Jeff Legwold, who ranked Sanders 32nd in his annual ranking of the top 100 college prospects.

Legwold noted that although Sanders' nearly 72% completion rate in two seasons at Colorado was an FBS career record, he is undersized and doesn't throw the ball quickly, which led to many of the FBS-leading 94 sacks he took the last two seasons.

Among the other best available prospects when the draft resumes with the Titans choosing 103rd overall are 5-foot-8 Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, who scored a school-record 22 touchdowns last season, and Arizona State's bruising running back Cam Skattebo, who rushed for 1,711 yards and 21 TDs last season.

Other top candidates for Round 4 include LSU guard Miles Frazier, Ohio State edge rusher Jack Sawyer and Colorado State wide receiver Tory Horton.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Delcy Rodríguez remained Venezuela’s acting president on Monday, exceeding the 90-day limit on her temporary role set by the country's high court following the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in January.

However, it's unclear how much longer she will keep the post as lawmakers have not taken a public vote to extend her term past last Friday’s deadline.

According to the court order, Maduro is still officially Venezuela’s president and his “forced” absence resulting from a “kidnapping” makes it temporarily impossible for him to fulfill his duties.

Under Venezuela's constitution, according to an article referenced by the court, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president — which was Rodríguez’s former role — for up to 90 days. These interim appointments can be extended by the national assembly for an additional 90 days.

The National Assembly, controlled by Rodríguez’s party, can trigger a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.

The government’s press office did not respond to requests for comment.

Ronal Rodríguez, a researcher at the Venezuela Observatory in Colombia’s Universidad del Rosario, said the government, particularly after Maduro took office in 2013, has previously used legal interpretations to remain in power.

“And it would be no surprise if they did so again now,” he said. “They will most likely try to come up with some kind of explanation, such as it being Good Friday or the way the days were counted, but in the end, everything will be validated by a ruling from the Supreme Tribunal of Justice.”

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured Jan. 3 in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Rodríguez and other ruling-party leaders have demanded that the pair be released from custody, calling their detention a kidnapping. Billboards and murals across Caracas also echo that same demand.

The Trump administration stunned Venezuelans by choosing to work with Rodríguez following Maduro’s ouster, instead of the country’s political opposition. She has since led cooperation with the administration’s phased plan to end Venezuela’s complex crisis, pitching her oil-rich nation to international investors and opening its energy sector to private capital and international arbitration. Rodríguez has also replaced senior officials, including Maduro’s faithful defense minister and attorney general.

U.S. President Donald Trump has praised her work.

The U.S. Treasury Department last week lifted sanctions on Rodríguez, while the U.S. State Department last month recognized her as the “sole Head of State” of Venezuela.

The United States stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader in 2019, the year after he claimed reelection victory in a contest widely considered a sham as opposition parties and candidates were barred from participating.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

FILE - Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez smiles during a meeting with a delegation led by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)