For today’s daily prospect analysis we continue the trend of scouting quarterbacks as today we take a look at the polarizing gunslinger Shedeur Sanders. Many people have incredibly differentiating views on Sanders as a prospect but here I’m going to dive deep into what he has done, what I have interpreted of him, and what I project for Sanders moving forward.
Sanders last year for Colorado led the team to a very promising start with a very close win against TCU, who were just in the national championship the year before. In the opening campaign against TCU Sanders threw for 4 touchdowns with no interceptions and over 500 yards with over an 80% completion percentage. After a showing like that there’s no doubt that plenty of eyes were on Sanders. A little later down the road though Colorado gradually started falling apart. They had a miserable loss to Oregon, and then a very tight loss to USC. To be fair, Sanders did shine in that game having 5 total touchdowns and only 1 interception. The following week Sanders led Buffalo to a win against Arizona State, and it looked like Buffalo was back. However after that game Colorado completely fell apart, losing all five of their final games to end the season. Through the first four weeks of the year Sanders was 3–1 with a completion percentage of 76.3% with only 1 interception compared to 12 total touchdowns. Comparatively in the final four games Sanders only had 7 touchdowns and he took a major step down in accuracy having only an average completion percentage of 61.8% to close out the year. Even though Sanders was still keeping the ball out of harm’s way to close out the year, he simply wasn’t doing enough to win games for Buffalo. Despite his flashy athleticism and highlight plays, more often than not Sanders looked like he struggled to step up when needed and couldn’t command his offense. Shedeur was a player I expected to progress throughout the season but disappointingly he did the opposite and dimmed as the losses started to pile up.
Statistically though Sanders was still one of the most efficient quarterbacks in college football, which is what makes him such a polarizing player. He had about 3,200 passing yards and 31 total touchdowns compared to just 3 interceptions. This is an incredible touchdown to turnover ratio that truly stands out. Along with this, despite his completion percentage tanking at the end of the year, he still finished the season with an overall 69.3% completion percentage. Many people believe that the stats are massively disguiding however as Sanders has scored many points in garbage time and doesn’t have a whole ton of yardage, despite his completion percentage and heap of passing attempts, leading to him only having a 63.1 quarterback rating. Despite Sanders’ ridiculous athleticism and ability as a scrambler, his pocket presence is completely absent to the point that he took 52 sacks last season. For a guy as athletic of a scrambler as he is, Sanders still overall lost yardage on the ground having -77 yards as a carrier.
Athletically Shedeur Sanders without a doubt has great talent. Sanders is definitely a little undersized, but isn’t too small for the position at 6’2 215 lbs. Where he really stands out is having a powerful throwing arm and especially in his athleticism as a mobile quarterback running a 4.65 40 yard dash. One minor negative to Sanders is that he is slightly on the older side of prospects as he will be 23 years old by the time of the 2025 draft. Overall, his athleticism is definitely a positive for Sanders as his electric upside is a major aspect of why he’s regarded as a top quarterback prospect this year.
It’s about time to dive into the tape though. Sanders has shown pretty good ability at identifying rushers and adjusting protections. I do have some slight concerns about identifying coverages though. His ball security is a huge positive, as stated before his touchdown to interception ratio is more than ideal for a college prospect. Normally athletic prospects struggle to keep the ball out of harm’s way playing “hero ball” so this is a great change of pace to see. Sanders displays great touch of the ball, able to drop passes down into receivers’ cradles, which paired with his rocket arm on the run is a dynamic tool to have as an NFL prospect. Sanders does a great job at keeping his eyes down field, showing poise and always looking for the bigger play. His throwing style is quick and he possesses multiple throwing angles that allow for big plays especially around defenders. One more positive that Sanders possesses over many of the other quarterbacks in the class is that Sanders has extensive experience under his belt as a starting quarterback at the college level.
As for the weaknesses though, as far as I can see Sanders has little to know pocket awareness and struggles heavily while under pressure. I often see Sanders get antsy which leads to him just hitting the deck and booking it with his legs, either laterally keeping his eyes downfield or straightforward for a run. Due to Sanders athleticism this often can result in a very positive play for him, but just as often it leads to a disgusting sack where he runs straight into a defender. It’s extremely rare that when the pocket starts to collapse that he stays and navigates his way to find a throwing lane, he almost always abandons ship. This may be because he doesn’t trust his own line or he doesn’t trust his own pocket presence, I believe it’s the latter. Ultimately it is a major concern for me, as better and more athletic NFL defenders will only bring out this weakness. Sanders often doesn’t get rid of the ball quick enough, hesitating to hit windows which misses out on big play opportunities and even often results in coverage sacks. One way or another it’s a major concern I have for Sanders as an NFL prospect as it won’t fly in the pros. His lower half mechanics need quite a bit of work as he tends to move awkwardly in the pocket with obscure footwork which affects base balance, throwing consistency, and ability to burst running quickly if need be. Finally, despite Sanders showing the ability to put a ball on a dime anywhere on the field, his consistency on the deep ball needs work as he constantly under throws his receivers forcing them to slow down for the ball. This turns a go ahead touchdown into a first down, an incompletion, or even a potential interception.
Compared to all of the other top quarterback prospects, Sanders has the most major questions or concerns of the bunch. Sanders without a doubt has all of the potential to be a superstar at the next level with his electric athleticism, likable accuracy, as well as consistency to limit turnovers. Nonetheless, I believe Sanders statistics are majorly skewed to look better than the tape shows him performing. Sanders is a major boom or bust prospect in my eyes that could turn out great for a franchise, or potentially blow up in their face. Sanders athleticism and 40 time suggest he’s a much more prominent scrambler than he’s actually displayed, lacking any elusiveness or flashy moves as a ball carrier and struggling to avoid defenders behind the line of scrimmage. His accuracy is inflated with senseless check downs that do nothing for the offensive drive. Finally, his throw power is undermined by his tendency to underthrow the deep ball. Sanders without a doubt is a talented player with plenty of upside, but he’s a big work in progress from what I’ve seen of the Colorado passer.
I do believe he will continue impressing statistically though as I project he will throw for over 3,500 passing yards with 30 passing touchdowns and another 3 scrambling touchdowns, to just 5 interceptions as well as a 71% completion percentage. I project Shedeur to be a 1st round draft pick, but from what I have seen so far it would be a very risky selection in my book.