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Can Shedeur Sanders become QB1 of the 2025 NFL draft class? Scouts help break down his game
More than a dozen scouts and evaluators weighed in on Sanders' strengths, weaknesses, comps and draft stock heading into the 2024 season.
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Can Shedeur Sanders become QB1 of the 2025 NFL draft class? Scouts help break down his game
More than a dozen scouts and evaluators weighed in on Sanders' strengths, weaknesses, comps and draft stock heading into the 2024 season.
What do scouts like about Sanders' game?
Sanders has the arm strength to accurately get the ball to the deeper portions of the field, but it's his ball placement that could truly separate him from his counterparts in the 2025 class. In the short and underneath areas, he has easy accuracy that helps him put the ball in precise locations.
His QBR on passes of 10 or fewer air yards was an impressive 81.3 last season, and he had a 76.8% completion rate (13th best) on those throws. Sanders' efficiency in those areas was among the best in the country, despite playing behind a leaky offensive line that frequently forced him off his spots, mostly notably in a 42-6 loss to Oregon on Sept. 23 in which Sanders was sacked seven times.
"Watching that Oregon game, he didn't have a chance behind that group," an NFC area scout that covers the West Coast area said. "There are some things that come with him, but I believe he has a chance to be special if he matures in some areas."
Sanders' numbers from within the pocket from 2023 really stand out. He completed 73.3% of his passes from the pocket (on 363 passing attempts), which was the
fourth-best mark in the FBS. And when his feet were planted, he completed an impressive 71.4% of his passes (11th best) while also tossing 21 touchdown throws (15th best) to only one interception.
Going back to his earlier college seasons, Sanders was clearly head and shoulders above his competition when he played at Jackson State, helping lead the program to its first conference championship since 2007. But the NFL scouting community wanted to see how Sanders would fare when challenged.
"It was tough to get a feel for just how good he was because they were just better than everybody else in that conference," an NFC scout said when referring back to his sophomore season, in which Sanders completed at least 62% of his passes in nine of 11 games. "We all were eager to see him perform on the FBS level, and we got a snapshot of it last year."
After the Colorado transfer, all eyes were on Sanders to see how his game would translate to Power 5 football. He exploded out of the starting block, orchestrating a memorable 45-42 victory in Week 1 over TCU. Sanders made multiple high-level throws that kept the Buffaloes in that game, leading an upset victory over a team that was in the College Football Playoff the previous season.
When talking to scouts, the one matchup they constantly brought up was the double-overtime thriller against Colorado State in Week 3, arguably Sanders' best performance of the season. With 2:06 remaining in the fourth quarter and Colorado trailing 28-20, he put together a seven-play, 98-yard drive that ended with him stepping up into the pocket and throwing a pass between two defenders, resulting in a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Horn Jr. with only 36 seconds left.
Still in need of a 2-point conversion to tie the game, Sanders delivered, throwing a conversion pass to Michael Harrison to send the game into overtime. Colorado eventually prevailed 43-35 in double OT, with Sanders throwing two more touchdown passes and another 2-point conversion pass in extra time.
"He's not afraid of the moment and welcomes those instances when they need him to make a play," an AFC area scout said.
Sanders is an even-keel distributor who can dissect and pick apart defenses when given time to throw. He is an enticing option for QB-needy teams thanks not only to the success that he has experienced on multiple levels but also the calmness of his play. Last season, he had an impressive 16 TD passes to only one interception in the red zone, and eight of those tosses were go-ahead scores.
Sanders accumulated those impressive statistics despite suspect protection. The Colorado offensive line experienced plenty of struggles, as Sanders was sacked an FBS-high 52 times in 2023. Blown blocks (16) and blitzes (12) were the two main reasons for such a high sack count, and Sanders was pressured on 38.2% of his throws, 15th highest in the FBS.
"When they actually protected him, you just simply can't teach the poise that that kid plays with," said one scout from an AFC team. "They crumbled after those first few games, but in those first games, Shedeur showed that he's capable of operating at a high level when he has time."
Hope not but it’s definitely on brand for the organization and city
