BREAKING: Dallas Selected Colorado Star Quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the No. 12 Pick in the NFL Draft

Dallas, TX – At 6:41 PM PDT on April 24, 2025, the Dallas Cowboys sent shockwaves through the NFL Draft, selecting Colorado Buffaloes star quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the No. 12 overall pick in the first round, held at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field. The announcement, made just minutes ago by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, capped weeks of speculation about the fate of the electrifying 23-year-old, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, and instantly transformed the Cowboys’ quarterback landscape. As the 49ers Faithful reel from Brock Purdy’s $300 million extension earlier today, Cowboys Nation erupts in jubilation, landing a player once projected as a top-five pick in a draft slide few saw coming.

Sanders, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner, brings a dazzling resume to Dallas. In his final Colorado season, he threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions, completing 74.2% of his passes—an FBS record—while leading the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record and an Alamo Bowl berth. His journey from Jackson State, where he won the 2021 Jerry Rice Award and 2022 Deacon Jones Trophy, to Power 5 stardom under his father’s coaching at Colorado, has made him a household name. Yet, his slide to No. 12—behind Miami’s Cam Ward (No. 1, Titans) and Texas’s Quinn Ewers (No. 7, Jets)—stunned analysts, with ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. calling it “the steal of the draft.”

The Cowboys’ selection ends a tumultuous quarterback saga. Dak Prescott, 32, signed a four-year, $240 million extension in 2024 but suffered a season-ending hamstring tear in Week 9, finishing 2024 with a 5-4 record in his starts. Backup Trey Lance, a 2021 top-three pick, fizzled in relief, and with Cooper Rush now in Baltimore, Dallas faced a glaring need. Owner Jerry Jones, flanked by new head coach Brian Schottenheimer at the draft, grinned ear-to-ear, declaring, “Shedeur’s a game-changer—accuracy, poise, swagger. He’s our future.” Schottenheimer, hired in January, nodded, adding, “His tape’s unreal—he fits my system like a glove.”

Social mediasphere X lit up instantly. “Shedeur to Dallas at 12? Highway robbery—Cowboys just won the draft,” one fan posted, while another gushed, “From Coach Prime to America’s Team—Shedeur’s made for this spotlight!” Critics, though, questioned the fit: “Dak’s still here—why not trade up for Ward?” The slide, some speculate, stemmed from teams’ concerns over Sanders’s 99 sacks taken in two Colorado years, though his 49 big-time throws since 2023 ranked fifth nationally, per PFF.

The pick reshapes Dallas’s roster. With Prescott’s $60 million annual cap hit through 2028, Sanders—on a rookie deal projected at $24 million over four years—offers flexibility. Rumors swirl of a potential Prescott trade, perhaps to Atlanta or Pittsburgh, though Jones dodged the topic: “Dak’s our guy for now—Shedeur learns from the best.” Sanders inherits a loaded offense: CeeDee Lamb, fresh off a 1,400-yard season, and a Micah Parsons-led defense bolstered by a rumored Myles Garrett trade. “I’m ready to ball—Dallas is home,” Sanders tweeted at 6:48 PM PDT, alongside a photo of him in a Cowboys cap.

For Deion Sanders, watching from a Colorado suite, it’s bittersweet. “My baby’s a Cowboy—proud don’t cover it,” he told NFL Network post-pick, though he’d hinted at preferring the Giants or Raiders for Shedeur’s fit. The No. 12 slot, once mocked by X’s @barstoolsports in November 2024—“Cowboys snag Shedeur at 1!”—became reality in a twist no one predicted. The Athletic’s Mike Sando noted, “Dallas pounced when others hesitated—Shedeur’s polish is unmatched.”

As the draft rolls on, Sanders’s arrival electrifies a franchise aching for a Super Bowl since 1995. At $42.86 million AAV, Purdy’s deal today set the QB market ablaze, but Sanders—at a fraction of the cost—might outshine them all. Cowboys fans, shedding tears of joy outside AT&T Stadium, chant “Shedeur! Shedeur!”—a new era dawns in Big D, and the NFL’s holding its breath. Stay tuned—this story’s just begun.