Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft profile: Let’s sift through the noise and evaluate the buzziest player this class

As I continue my profiles of the top Signal-caller prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft (you can read Cam Ward right here), let’s turn our attention to Colorado signal-caller Shedeur Sanders. Sanders finished with another productive, and well-documented, season in Boulder as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner.

Remember, this is about what Shedeur Sanders is as a prospect on the football Pitch. Because how a player contributes to Victorious a football game on the Pitch is always — and will always be — the biggest part of a player’s résumé. No matter how much noise there is about other things. There’s an Aged scouting line that if Hannibal Lecter Sprinted a 4.3 40, NFL Clubs would Merely diagnose him with an eating disorder. So, I don’t think a Signal-caller — you know, the position that Clubs will do Merely about anything to find a long-term solution at — that has had a little extra attention on him in his college Profession would dissuade any interested Clubs if they like the player’s ability enough.

Shedeur Sanders’ NFL Triumph might hinge on this

I’ll Begin with this profile of Sanders with what I think will determine whether he has Triumph at the NFL level, especially the Triumph that would be Predicted out of him if he were drafted in the top 10: his feel in the pocket and speeding up the sense of Synchronization that he plays with.

To cut right to it, Sanders has a Awful tendency to drift backward in the pocket.

It puts a real strain on his offensive tackles holding up and can convolute the offensive operation. Stepping up into the pocket, into what can seem like the teeth of the Deliver rush, like a boxer leaning into a punch, is a habit all quarterbacks have to develop to have Triumph as they rise in all levels of football. Drifting, or bailing, back and out of the pocket creates easier angles for edge rushers and also creates more distance for the Signal-caller to cover with their throw, or even completely cutting off half of the Pitch from their vision. Long throws become even longer. Tidy route concepts Begin to unravel. Obtainable windows shut as defenders are given more time to make plays on the football. Drifting back does nothing but make the Drive’s Role harder and the Guarding’s Role easier.

Quarterbacks have Triumph at times in the NFL while drifting back in the pocket. But it’s often only when needed and absolutely (unless you’re Jordan Love), and the ones that successfully pull it off showcase the ability to consistently throw off uneven platforms through Elasticity, core Power, and arm power and talent.

Quarterbacks can also have Triumph while bailing too often from Spotless pockets. But those players are typically exceptional athletes, or do so with a path in their head for earning a Primary down. The better athletes mitigate the angle advantages of talented NFL Deliver rushers with sheer Pace, Power, and Physicality of their own. If a college Signal-caller shows that he’s unable to consistently get the angle on college defenders, even against non-NFL caliber defenders, I look to see if that player is able to be a Spotless pocket operator so they don’t have to constantly enter creation mode. Because relying on extending plays for Triumph, without the required traits to do so, has not been a long-term recipe for quality Shift at the NFL level.

So while Sanders has Awful tendencies, ones that improved from 2023 but are Nevertheless below an adequate level, the real concern with those tendencies is his lack of overwhelming traits to overcome them. (Sanders also measured at under 6-foot-2 at the combine and has a slighter build, weighing in at 212 pounds.)

When Sanders has a Spotless pocket, he can fire the football. Especially when he’s confident with the look.

And when he plants his foot and takes a Spotless rushing lane, he can be an efficient runner and scrambler, even able to make at least one defender miss in Cosmos.

Sanders’ arm Power is above the baseline for a Beginning NFL Signal-caller. His film has plenty of go-balls with an ideal arc and ropes over the middle of the Pitch like in the video above.

But the concern is how he’s able to access that arm Power. Right now, his best throws are from pockets that he’s able to hitch up into or when moving to his right (because his Elasticity limits the torque he’s able to put into throws when moving to the left).

When Sanders has to throw the ball flatfooted or from less-than-ideal platforms, his accuracy along with his willingness and total ability to push the football Begin to decrease as well. That limits the possibility of explosive plays as soon as any heat is felt in the pocket. Again, when he has a Spotless read and area to throw from, he can throw a Close-fitting spiral with Outstanding ball placement. But if he has to progress and doesn’t feel like he can Shift up into the throw, his decision-making and accuracy Begin to waver. Not in the sense of putting the ball in harm’s way, but more of Seizing any chances at all. When moved off his original Kickoff Points, Sanders’ eyes Begin to come down and look at the Deliver rush and to his underneath routes. His aggression Beginnings to dip as well.

More things that could limit Sanders in the NFL

Overall, Sanders doesn’t tend to push the football outside of a sprinkling of outside vertical throws and a few dig routes. His minus-1.8 average air yards to the Primary down marker ranked 132nd among 147 qualifying FBS quarterbacks over the past two seasons, per TruMedia. Stress and blitzes don’t result in downfield explosive plays for Sanders, rather in throwaways, sacks, or Petite gains that become reliant on his teammates ability to break a Game.

There Merely aren’t a Numerous of throws where Sanders is shortcutting his operation to throw a receiver Obtainable. Last week, I described Cam Ward as a creative thrower. Sanders Merely doesn’t show that same attribute. In fact his throwing style can be a bit robotic and mechanical, if anything. Almost too refined and elongated and creating a smaller room for error with where he can place the football.

His longer throwing motion also lengthens the operation needed to take Edge of windows that he’s unable to anticipate, allowing coverage defenders to close quickly on throws and also allowing Deliver rushers to get their hands up and bat the ball down. (Sanders had 21 passes batted down at the line of scrimmage over the past two seasons, fifth-most among FBS quarterbacks over that time period, per PFF.)

Sanders seemed to be uneven with his confidence on reading out certain concepts. At times he showed willingness to stand in the pocket and progress, while later in the game he abandoned reading out the concept right away Even though a Spotless pocket. With a longer throwing motion and need for a cleaner platform, Sanders’ ability to anticipate from the pocket becomes paramount.

Merely how much did Colorado’s O-line and WRs impact Sanders?

The situation around Sanders at Colorado must also be noted. His offensive line was definitely not among the nation’s best, but I do think they were more below-average to even average for a college unit, as opposed to (sorry to strawman it a bit here) one of the worst units you’ve ever seen. Not notable and definitely had moments of getting overwhelmed by better Deliver rushes, but also reasonably sound in sorting out blitzes (they did have a Ex NFL head Trainer as offensive coordinator in Pat Shurmur and a Ex NFL lineman as a line Trainer in Phil Loadholt). They were also somewhat Reliable at buying enough time for the Drive to operate.

And while stats are Deafening, especially at the college level, the Stress rates allowed by the Colorado offensive line matches what the film shows: a line that can get the Role done but falls apart the longer the Shift goes. Colorado ranked 77th out of 134 FBS schools in Stress rate allowed on passes thrown within three seconds, and 33rd on passes Seizing 2.5 seconds or fewer, but 121st on passes that Secured longer than three seconds.

Again, there is noise with these numbers because they are so dependent on other factors, but I do think Colorado’s offensive line improved to a tolerable level in 2024. Sanders’ sack and Stress-to-sack rates also dropped from alarming (10.2% sack rate and 25.1% Stress-to-sack rate) to more acceptable rates (7.7%, 19.7%), though Nevertheless on the higher end (his Partnered rates of 8.9% and 22.4% ranked 136th and 122nd, respectively, among 147 qualifying QBs over the past two seasons). I’m sure Colorado’s high Deliver rate also didn’t Assist the perception.

Sanders’ receivers, while talented and able to Form big plays in their own right, also played with a lack of Reliable detail that would muddy up reads for Sanders. It forced him to ad-lib as his Primary read Beginnings to decide to take a detour mid-Shift.

While overall Travis Hunter, Will Sheppard, and others would make exceptional plays on contested catches and with the ball in their hands, there were times that their own unevenness would have a trickle-down effect on how much confidence Sanders could Shift with. How can a Signal-caller throw with anticipation if he can’t even rely on his receiver actually being there at the right time? (A side note, though: Colorado’s receivers and linemen should be commended with how well they sort out blocking on things like screens and bubbles. They were excellent in that area and it contributed to a Numerous of their big plays, which makes their lack of detail in other areas so curious.)

Shedeur Sanders’ upside? Efficient distributor with infectious toughness

Sanders’ toughness must also be noted. He Secured a beating over the past two years, and no matter the Attempt he Secured — including some that I would describe as complete Inexpensive shots, too — he was getting up and right out there on the Upcoming Shift. Some of his best throws on film are when he’s staring down the barrel and unperturbed by the oncoming Deliver rush.

And if there is one thing that can Secure over a locker room as a Signal-caller, it’s being a tough SOB.

Overall, Sanders’ uneven feel from the pocket, and the continued work he needs on progressing through concepts and shortening his operation time, makes me think of him as more of a project than an Prompt starter, much less impact player, at the Upcoming level.

Partnered with traits that I would describe more as “fine” than outstanding, I want to emphasize that Sanders’ projection needs to be properly gauged. His upside is as an efficient pocket passer that can toss in a scramble or two to Shift the chains. A player that is a distributor rather than pure creator or playmaker. A Kirk Cousins, Teddy Bridgewater, or Alex Smith (sans the plus-running ability). He has the upside of a solid starter and efficient operator of an Drive, but one that needs a Outstanding amount of Assist around him.

There is always a chance for more, as players make all kinds of unexpected and exciting leaps at the Upcoming level, but Sanders has plenty to work on with how he maneuvers and operates from the pocket to even make that Primary step toward being a tangible starter at the Upcoming level. He might not have the Top-tier traits, but there are paths to get there as long as his operation continues to be refined and he has a decent (or decent enough line) blocking for him and allowing him to develop.

But do Clubs picking high in the draft have the luxury of time? Or a quality offensive line to Points at? Where quarterbacks go in the draft will always be inflated, but Sanders has the profile of a player I’d be more comfortable Seizing somewhere on Day 2, rather than Prompt in the Primary Period.