What people are right and wrong about on Shedeur Sanders in the NFL Draft

A lot has been thrown out about Shedeur Sanders in this draft cycle. What is and isn’t true about the Buffaloes’ QB?

I am going to say something that has turned out to be pretty controversial in this draft cycle.

(/steps towards microphone, taps microphone twice) I think Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is a good QB who can be a very good NFL QB. In a college career that spanned across two universities, Sanders has thrown 134 touchdowns to 27 interceptions and helped bring Colorado back to national prominence. However, during this draft cycle a LOT of stuff has been thrown out there about Sanders. In latest mock drafts the ranges for him start all the way at 2 and some have him dropping out of the first round. Many are trying to figure out if Sanders is an efficient point guard in an offense, or an athletically limited inefficient college QB who takes too many sacks? Is he a leader in the locker room, or a prima donna who is getting the attention because his father is Deion Sanders?

Let’s try and answer some of those questions, both on and off the field.

To start off, there’s been nothing that I’ve heard that would insinuate that Sanders is close to a prima donna. Does he understand what he’s worth in an era where players have more power than ever? Yes, but that’s not at all a bad thing. From people that I knew who attended the 2025 Shrine Bowl, there’s been nothing that makes them feel that Sanders is a problem off the field or in the locker room.

The Deion Sanders factor is a factor, but it shouldn’t be the thing that keeps a team from drafting Sanders. Assuming that he’s going to be a problem because he’s a Sanders and makes noise is a bad assumption, one that doesn’t evaluate Sanders as a person or anyone that’s interacted with him.

What Shedeur Sanders is

Now, let’s get into the on-field conversation with Sanders. To start off, I think Shedeur is the best quick game passer in this class. He’s a quick processor who, even without the help of RPOs can get through progressions on time. In addition, he’s an incredibly accurate passer, capable of hitting marks at every level of the field. Cory Kinnan does phenomenal work with QBs, and his Weighted On-Target percentage has Sanders at a blistering 73.26%, only one spot behind Commanders’ QB Jayden Daniels and by far the most accurate QB in the class. Sanders has an efficient release and you can tell how much time he’s spent around football with his ability to get through progressions in the shorter areas. On this play, he’s wanting to work this hi-lo with the RB motion pulling the flat defender out of the area for the lo part of the hi-lo. Gets the ball out and continues to move the chains. Quick, efficient work.

When he does want to test the ball vertically, I think he also shows the ability to find the holes in zones, knowing when to take a shot and when to fold em. I think his touchdown to WR Will Sheppard was a really good indication of what he can do when given time. UCF is in quarters coverage, and Colorado is running a crosser and then a big post from the side to the field. Sanders takes the snap, and his right guard gets bullrushed to hell by the defensive tackle. He takes a couple of steps to his right and sees the field side safety bite on the crosser, giving him access to this post. Next thing you know, the Buffaloes are on the board.

Where Sanders is at his best on the field is in his work over the middle of the field, in my opinion. His manipulation of underneath defenders and ball placement make him like a professional golfer working the fairways, or a great midfielder threading passes to his attacking teammates. Sanders’ vision and touch also stand out in these areas, threading the needle in muddy areas and moving the chains. Remember that hi-lo that I used earlier? The Buffaloes pulled it out again and Sanders got aggressive. He could take this lo, the easy completion. But in a collapsing pocket, Sanders fires this dig route in a cloudy area for the completion. What I love the most about this pass is that Sanders puts some gas on it. He understands that this is a tight window with the LB sinking under the route, but he puts this through the keyhole. This is NFL level passing.

This pass against North Dakota State is a beauty, over an arm of a defender at the second level. Sanders gets this ball up and down at the intermediate level like a professional golfer, putting enough on the ball to not slow his receiver down, but also having enough touch to put it over the hand of the defense. I’ll bet on this any day of the week.

While Sanders doesn’t have the strongest arm (I would say his arm is about average), he excels in putting enough mustard on the ball in tight windows to move the chains or create explosives. When you think about how many NFL teams want to access the middle of the field with their passing game, it’s easy to see how Sanders can fit in immediately.

Again, the arm isn’t the strongest, but where Sanders wins is with manipulation of defenders and impressive touch downfield. Kinnan also tracks Sanders as the most accurate passer on deep balls among all the 2025 draft eligible QBs, an impressive number despite his lack of arm strength. His anticipation when he releases these deep passes is really nice, beating defenders with his mind and timing rather than his arm. I think this deep ball against Kansas State is a beautiful example of what I mean. The Wildcats are in 2-Man coverage, and Shedeur wants this go ball down the right sideline. Look at how he holds that safety over to the middle of the field, then drops a rainbow in to his receiver. Eight ball, corner pocket.

These are translatable NFL things that Sanders was doing at Colorado, tangible things that I think will help him win at the NFL level. The fact that he has this fearlessness in muddy areas on top of the accuracy in his profile makes me believe that he can be a quality NFL QB in the right offense.

What Shedeur Sanders isn’t

Ok let’s talk about the sacks. Sanders was WALLOPED during his time at Colorado, to the tune of 94 sacks over two years at Colorado and an insane amount of pressures. Some of those pressures and sacks look like this:

Not exactly the Great Wall in front of him, y’all. However, Sanders’ deficiencies show up in this area, potentially a limiting factor. What Sanders isn’t is an overwhelming athlete, meaning his answers against pressure have to be better. When we talk about answers against pressure, I think you can beat the pressure one of three ways: with your arm (Matthew Stafford), with your legs (Jayden Daniels) or with your mind (Aaron Rodgers Packers era). Sanders doesn’t have the athleticism to evade a lot of these pressures with his legs, leading to a lot of spinouts that look like this:

Where Sanders gets into trouble is drifting in the pocket, an issue that I think will have to be ironed out at the NFL level. Arguably the biggest after effect of being hit as much as Sanders has at the college level is him drifting backwards to buy himself time in the pocket, because what happens is you make the path for pass rushers much easier. Offensive linemen are protecting the bubble that you stand in, and drifting back puts you outside the bubble, susceptible to poor passes and sacks. You see how on this sack he drifts into the lane of the left tackle? It makes the pass rusher’s job much easier and Sanders gets himself into a whole world of trouble. No bueno.

Despite some of these drifting issues, I actually think Sanders has improved his pocket presence from 2023 to 2024. His pressure to sack rate went down almost four full percentage points per SIS, his On-Target Rate under pressure went up from 63.5% to 69.6%, while keeping his interception rate the same (2.3%). The drifting was a problem, but watching his snaps under pressure, I saw a player who was clearly trying to find his answers vs pressure, whether that be with his arm or his mind. On this play against Oklahoma State, the Cowboys bring everyone with zero coverage over the top. The Buffaloes run slot fade, but they’re in empty protection. Sanders has to beat this coverage with his mind or arm, and he does it with both. He notices the alignment, then before he gets hit, lays this ball out over the shoulder of his receiver and leading him away from the coverage. That’s a big boy throw.

I really like this rep by Sanders because of the feel for the pocket he displays. He’s got a crosser and a backside dig to his right, so just watch Sanders work up in the pocket and get to the backside. This stuff is translatable to the NFL, and Sanders is growing in this area.

Ultimately, this class is one where if you have a guy like Miami’s Cam Ward above Sanders, I completely understand. However, I think Sanders is a very talented passer who can find his footing in the NFL–in the right scenario.