Where Shedeur Sanders goes, the spotlight follows … and what follows below is Thor Nystrom's Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft scouting report, including his player comparison, class rank, analysis, and more.
Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft Scouting Report
- Colorado | 6’1/200
- Player Comp: Drew Brees
- My Rank: QB1
In December 2019, Florida Atlantic replaced Lane Kiffin – who had just departed for Ole Miss – with Willie Taggart. Taggart, fired from Florida State the month before following a 4-5 start to the season, had an inspired idea to continue the success at FAU that Kiffin had started: Taggart intended to sign, as the face of his program, QB Shedeur Sanders, son of the Hall of Famer, Deion.
Over the previous calendar year, Taggart had been recruiting Shedeur to Florida State – famously the alma mater of Shedeur’s father. But by the summer of 2020, in his new capacity as Florida Atlantic’s head coach, Taggart had officially secured Shedeur’s commitment to the Owls. This was a major coup – the Owls had never before signed a top-50 overall recruit out of high school, as Shedeur was rated by ESPN.
But it turns out Taggart didn’t need to worry about one of the bluebloods who offered Shedeur – Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Oregon, LSU, Michigan, Tennessee – flipping him. Shedeur’s father, Deion, had taken the FCS Jackson State job in 2020, and, in November of that year, Shedeur committed to play for his father at JSU.
Shedeur threw for 3,231 yards and 30 TD as a true freshman. He remained the highest-rated recruit that Jackson State had ever signed for exactly one calendar year. In December 2021, on National Signing Day, Shedeur’s father, Deion, made college football history by flipping the No. 1 overall recruit in his class, Travis Hunter, from Florida State – Prime’s alma mater – to Jackson State.
Had Willie Taggart never been dismissed in Tallahassee, Shedeur, like his father Deion, likely would have been a Florida State Seminole – where he would have played out his career next to Travis Hunter.
Instead, after one year together at Jackson State – Shedeur went 23-2 over two seasons at JSU – Shedeur, Travis, and Coach Prime were off to Colorado, where in two years the trio helped turn a 1-11 program into a Big 12 contender. Hunter won the Heisman. Sanders finished No. 8 in voting while winning the Johnny Unitas Award. Both are considered top-5 overall prospects in this draft class.
What Does Shedeur Sanders Bring To The NFL Draft?
From an early age, Shedeur Sanders set out to become a pocket passer. His game itself shows a resolute conviction in the pursuit of this idea. Sanders is plenty mobile in the pocket, making defenders miss, and scrambling out of danger.
But Sanders always keeps his eyes downfield, and as long as the option is on the table, he will slam on the brakes before the line of scrimmage to continue surveying his options. Sanders’ scrambling machinations have a tendency to suck defenders downhill, away from their coverage assignments, an involuntary reflex that Sanders takes great joy in punishing them for.
Sanders’ athleticism gets pooh-poohed because he very rarely tucks the ball and runs – but he has all the athleticism he needs to achieve his stated aim, which is to buy extra opportunities for his receivers to break free. Sanders does not have a huge arm. He doesn’t beat defenders with velocity, he beats them with timing, anticipation, placement, and good ol’ fashioned manipulation.
I’ve noticed a difficulty, in a sect of my media brethren, to unspool opinions of Shedeur/Coach Prime’s flashy/brash public personas with the reality of Shedeur’s game in a vacuum. As one example, Shedeur doesn’t get nearly enough credit for being the toughest quarterback in this class.
Sanders played behind terrible offensive lines at Colorado, particularly in 2023. Both years, he played without the help of a legitimate running game. Sure, he played with Travis Hunter. But defenses knew what was coming against the Colorado Buffaloes, and defensive lines could pin their ears back against CU’s leaky line.
Over and over again in college, Sanders looked down the gun barrel and stepped into the smoke to deliver a dime. Slow down the tape. Sanders is one of the rare quarterbacks whose motion doesn’t change when he’s about to get blasted. This is why Sanders’ accuracy holds true under heavy duress. That’s a trait that leads to a lot of extra yards for the offense.
By now, Sanders is used to maneuvering around bodies and contorting himself to unload passes in the hairiest of pockets. Sanders has some of this class’ most odds-defying trick-shot passes under pressure, getting balls into the hands of receivers from angles that appear to be optical illusions.
Sanders’ accuracy, in general, is an elite trait. He can put the ball wherever he wants it, to any sector of the field, shielding it from defenders and leading his receivers into space. Several quarterbacks in this class need to see an open receiver before throwing – Sanders is a step ahead, maneuvering his receivers to a clean catch point through placement, leading to primo YAC opportunities.
You can see how well Sanders has taken to coaching over the years from his repeatable upper-body mechanics; he throws like an archer shoots, quick and easy, tight, natural, and repeatable. Last season, Sanders’ 81.8% adjusted accuracy percentage – five points ahead of Cam Ward’s 76.3% – ranked No. 2 amongst FBS quarterbacks, per PFF.
Sanders is also elite at avoiding negative plays. Last season, he ranked No. 3 in turnover-worthy play rate (1.2) – Ward’s turnover-worthy play rate of 3.1 was nearly three times higher. Sanders was also 97th percentile in avoiding negative throws/dropback, per PFF.
Ward has a bigger arm than Sanders, and he’s more audacious, giving him a higher ceiling than Sanders. But Ward’s game is a peaks-and-valleys ride, whereas Sanders is as rock-solid reliable as they come. Sanders’ floor is sky-high. His game will translate to the modern NFL, and he will succeed.
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