The NFL mock drafts are no less than a snake-and-ladder game. One player climbs up the ladder in one roll of the dice, only to land on the face of the snakes and slide to the bottom. The Pro Football Network has unveiled its latest mock draft. Days after celebrating the Colorado Buffaloes’ dual threat Travis Hunter’s edge over Carson Beck, the tables seemed to have turned again.

Per the mock draft, the Buffs’ two-way phenom will likely lose his spot to Georgia QB giant Carson Beck. Until then, the Buff fans seemed to do okay until they realized their biggest blow was yet to come. Shedeur Sanders could not make it to the Top 5 picks list and his No. 1 draft dreams crashed.

Beck captures Hunter’s position in the mock draft

Ever since Hunter got featured as the only Buff on the EA Sports 25 College Football cover, fans were convinced that the dual-threat would never need to look back. However, the Buffs fandom may have been proven wrong.

Until now, the only dilemma surrounding Hunter was whether the superstar should focus on his WR talents or play as a DB. However, the Pro Football Network’s mock draft has shifted the focus as Hunter now loses his spot to competitor Beck. All credit goes to the Georgia Bulldogs QB shooting to be the current favorite after raging as the starter.

Beck finished his previous season with a 72.4% completion rate and 3,941 passing yards. This led the analysts to give him a competitive edge over Hunter. Despite Beck being chosen first in the mock draft, that’s not the case in the NIL game. The Buffs dual threat has a valuation of $2.7 million, whereas Beck is valued at $1.6 million. Do NIL standings have any effect on the NFL Draft? The Shedeur scenario paints a divergent picture. 

Shedeur is likely to be out of the Top 5 race

In case the draft stocks were determined by NIL standings, Shedeur would have definitely stood a stance in the Pro Football Network’s mock draft. But woah — what a surprise! Even being the top college football player in the NIL list, holding a valuation of $4.6 million, Deion Sanders’ son failed to earn himself a spot in the Top 5 list. There can be two reasons behind Shedeur’s draft dreams being insulted, one being his high sack percentage when he was sacked 52 times in 2023.  

The second-most concerning reason is the nepotism charges brought against the Buffs’ quarterback sensation. When NFL draft analyst John Frascella wrote on May 30, “My Top 8 Quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft Class as of May 30, 2024: 1. Shedeur Sanders 2. Carson Beck 3. Quinn Ewers 4. Drew Allar 5. Jalen Milroe 6. Cam Ward 7. Conner Weigman 8. Riley Leonard,” he faced a lot of backlash for placing Shedeur at the top. One of the college football fans came up with a caustic jab: “I wouldn’t touch Shedeur Sanders for the same reason I wouldn’t draft Bronny James; both come with daddy problems.”  

By now Buffs fans have prepared themselves about not seeing their favorite Shedeur at the top. Hence, they are now braiding their aspirations around Hunter to at least uplift their reputation by making it to the Top 5. Something is always better than nothing, after all.