Projecting where each of Deion Sanders' '4 first-round picks' could get drafted

The Colorado Buffaloes will be a team of great debate for as long as Deion Sanders remains their head coach. After a 4-8 first season chock full of ups and down, CU could be pushing for more than just being bowl eligible. They should have two of the first 10 players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft in quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Mr. Everything Travis Hunter. Could it be more than just them?

Coach Prime seems to think so. He said that as many as four of his players could be first-rounders next spring. While Sanders did go on record by saying Arizona State transfer B.J. Green could join his son Shedeur and Hunter in the first round, he wanted us to try and figure out who No. 4 could be. Since it's all in the name to begin with, I would say he was talking about his other son, Shilo Sanders.

While Green could be if he has a tremendous season in the trenches coming over from Arizona State, Shilo Sanders is probably only a third-to-fifth-round pick. Of course, players off winning teams get drafted higher than off teams who either don't win or underperform. To me, the over/under of Colorado players being drafted in the first round should be set at 2.5. I would love to be proven wrong.

Let's start with Hunter, the two-way player I have a hard time seeing falling outside of the top 10.

Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter

Hunter was the No. 1 overall prospect coming out of high school. While he hails from Metro Atlanta, he initially committed to play for Mike Norvell at Florida State before flipping on National Signing Day to play for Coach Prime down in Jackson State. It was an unprecedented decision by him to shun a college football blue-blood for an HBCU, but he found himself back in the Power Four at Colorado.

I think for as long as he stays healthy and doesn't break down trying to play both ways, Hunter should be a first-round pick. There are a handful of teams I like for him, but if I had to pick one between the Arizona Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts, I would have to go with Arizona. This is a team that is trending up with plenty of star players already on it. I really like Jonathan Gannon as a defensive mind.

Arizona may not be the most obvious of landing spots for Hunter, but the upside there is tremendous.

NFL team: Arizona Cardinals

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders

When it comes to Shedeur Sanders' best potential first-round fit, I have put the greatest amount of thought into it. I project that he will indeed be a top-10 pick next spring, probably as either QB3, or even QB2 if Quinn Ewers cannot stay healthy. I have seen some mock drafts having Sanders going No. 1. I am not one of them, as my alma mater's Carson Beck is the best quarterback in this class.

Regarding the handful of teams who could draft Sanders, I really like the idea of him going to a team like the Las Vegas Raiders. I envision that the Silver and Black will be right around .500 this year because of their halfway decent quarterback play. It will have them picking somewhere in the early-to-mid-teens, at least initiially. If Sanders is still available after seven picks, simply trade up to get him.

The Raiders offer both a cool factor and the identity of being a rebel franchise that would suit him.

NFL team: Las Vegas Raiders

Colorado Buffaloes defensive end B.J. Green

Admittedly, I am not very high on the idea of Arizona State transfer B.J. Green going in the first round to begin with. But since we are doing this exercise for the sake of doing it, I will allow it. The defensive end could be coming off the board late in the first round due to him being a fast climber of sorts on a breakout team in Colorado. Thus, I would be looking a team who just barely qualified for the playoffs.

While I think there is a chance he could end up on my Atlanta Falcons or the Jacksonville Jaguars, I settled with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I am sure Deion Sanders has a ton of respect for Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, as well as how general manager Jason Licht does business. This is a team that needs to sustain winning excellence in an improving division. I think Green in the trenches helps.

Sanders saying Green is a first-round talent certainly caught my attention, but we shall wait and see.

NFL team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Colorado Buffaloes safety Shilo Sanders

I am strictly speculating here, but I feel the fourth first-rounder in Sanders' eyes would have to be that of his own son in safety Shilo Sanders. While not as publicized as his younger brother Shedeur Sanders, Shilo Sanders plays in an important position group that a team looking to augment its roster just a bit in the latter portions of round one could be interested in acquiring. Again, it feels like a reach.

The team that I settled on for Shilo Sanders would be my Atlanta Falcons. His dad starred for them and Raheem Morris is a defensive-minded coach who specializes in coaching up defensive backs. Given who strange Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot can be working the draft board, it wouldn't shock me if a second Sanders ends up playing defense for this NFC South franchise.

I would much rather the Falcons drafted a pass-rusher until one took, but a safety isn't terrible.

NFL team: Atlanta Falcons