Shedeur Sanders’ rookie season in Cleveland didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet, but somehow, it still ended with a trip to the Pro Bowl. The fifth-round pick made the AFC roster as a replacement for injured Patriots quarterback Drake Maye - and that decision has stirred up plenty of debate across the league.
Let’s start with the basics: Sanders threw for just 1,400 yards over seven starts and one relief appearance. His touchdown-to-interception ratio?
A shaky seven scores to 10 picks. His completion percentage hovered at 56.6%, and his passer rating landed at 68.1.
According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked dead last - 38th out of 38 qualifying quarterbacks in 2025. Those aren’t exactly Pro Bowl numbers, and former LSU standout and All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu made sure to say so.
On his In the Bayou podcast, Mathieu didn’t hold back. “That’s what I don’t like, bro - we cannot reward mediocrity,” he said.
“If you got more interceptions than touchdowns, there’s no way you should be rewarded.” It’s a blunt statement, but one that echoes what a lot of folks around the league are thinking.
Mathieu’s comments quickly gained traction on social media, and right on cue, Deion Sanders - Shedeur’s father and the high-profile head coach at Colorado - posted a message to his Instagram Story that many saw as a response. “Don’t argue or negotiate with God’s timing!”
he wrote. “God’s timing is impeccable & perfect.
If it hadn’t happened for u yet, it’s not time! Be patient Be present & perfect your Gifting’s.
God got this!”
It was a classic Deion move - cryptic, spiritual, and protective all at once. And he doubled down later on the We Got Time Today podcast with Rocsi Diaz, saying he immediately went into “Daddy Mode” when he heard about the Pro Bowl nod.
“As a father, you go into protection mode,” Deion said. “Like okay, is this good, is this bad, how they gonna spin it, how they gonna flip it.”
And the spinning hasn’t stopped. Critics have pointed to Sanders’ massive social media following and the weight of the Sanders name as key factors in his selection. With Pro Bowl voting split evenly among fans, players, and coaches, popularity still plays a major role - and some believe it’s starting to overshadow performance.
An NFC coach even texted Sports Illustrated to say the quiet part out loud: “The most popular guy on TikTok goes to the Pro Bowl now.”
To be fair, Sanders himself didn’t expect the call. In an interview with NFL.com, he admitted he was surprised by the selection.
And that honesty might be the most telling part of this whole conversation. Even the player at the center of the debate seems unsure of how he got there.
For the record, Sanders is the first rookie fifth-round pick to make the Pro Bowl since Rams wideout Puka Nacua in 2023 - another player who built a massive fan base quickly. But Nacua’s rookie campaign was statistically dominant.
Sanders’ season? Not so much.
This debate isn’t just about one player. It’s about what the Pro Bowl represents in today’s NFL.
Is it still a celebration of the league’s best, or has it become a popularity contest driven by brand, buzz, and social media clout? When a Hall of Famer’s son with below-average numbers gets the nod over more productive quarterbacks, it’s a fair question to ask.
For now, Shedeur Sanders is a Pro Bowler. That’s a fact. But whether that honor reflects performance or popularity - that’s the conversation the league is still having.