Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Size:
Height: 6014
Weight: 212
Arm: 31 ½”
Hand: 9 ⅜”
Accomplishments:
First-Team All-American (2024) • Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (2024) • First-Team All-Big 12 (2024) • AP Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year (2023) • SWAC Offensive Player of the Year (2022) • SWAC Freshman of the Year (2021) • Second-team All-SWAC • 4-star recruit
“Shedeur Sanders has the accuracy, ball placement, plus-mobility, and clutch mentality to develop into a potential franchise quarterback at the next level.”
Strengths:
- Accuracy and ball placement
- Touch and mixing ball trajectory
- Pre and Post-snap recognition
- Mobility
Concerns:
- Pocket mobility
- Lack of elite arm strength
- Holds onto the football
- Pressure leading to sacks
Film Analysis:
Shedeur Sanders is the son of Hall of Famer Deion “Prime Time” Sanders. At the quarterback position, Shedeur plays with a similar type of demeanor, remaining cool, calm, and collected in high-leverage moments but also making flashy plays. From watching the film, you can tell Sanders is a confident quarterback who relies on his natural arm talent and instincts to make plays from within the pocket but also outside of the pocket. He possesses a good football IQ, and he can identify defenses pre- and post-snap.
Sanders does a good job of dissecting defenses when he is protected, given time to read the coverage and throw. He is an efficient quick-game passer who diagnoses coverages well and finds the open receiver. Sanders possesses plus-arm talent with plenty of velocity to complete drive throws in the middle of the field and into tight windows. This is evident in the red zone where he can fire passes with immense confidence, ball placement, accuracy, and velocity. As a deep passer, he is good at putting the ball out in front or over the outside shoulder away from the defender.
Sanders is experienced with full-field progressions. He scans from sideline to sideline working from his first progression all the way to his checkdown efficiently and efficiently. He throws with multiple arm angles/slots to work the ball around would-be defenders. Sanders throws with good accuracy on back-shoulder fades to help uncover his receiver from tight coverage. He fully understands spin control and touch as a passer—layers pass over underneath defenders with good touch. He offers enough mobility and athleticism to improvise with his legs, extending plays for his receivers. When utilized, he is a threat to move the chains as a runner. In the red zone, he possesses the athleticism to make defenses pay for not factoring him in as a scramble threat. The most impressive part of Sanders' ability is his touch and ability to layer throws. Sanders has no problem layering throws in between a high safety and a linebacker. Overall, Sanders' arm talent extends past just arm strength. His ability to mix velocities and ball trajectories is something that Sanders excels at.
The improvements for Sanders revolve around him holding the football too long in the pocket, leading to unnecessary sacks and hits. He is inconsistent in navigating the pocket. When pressured, he will drift backward in the pocket or move laterally, risking getting sacked. This can out-leverage his offensive tackles and put him in compromising positions. Sanders is a good athlete for a quarterback but at times overestimates his ability to get out of complex situations and will turn bad thighs into worse trying to evade sacks. Sanders can benefit from improved anticipation when throwing from the pocket—this can limit the hits he takes. His base and footwork are areas for improvement and cleaning up.
Sanders projects as a starting quarterback with a good ceiling to develop. His combination of accuracy, arm talent, and mobility will be attractive for many teams needing a face of the franchise QB in 2025. He has NFL bloodlines and is not a stranger to the bright lights. If he can correct some of his footwork issues and pocket inconsistencies, Sanders can become a high-level franchise quarterback.
Prospect Projection: Day 1 — Pro Bowl Caliber
Exposures: North Dakota State (2024), Baylor (2024), Nebraska (2024), Kansas (2024), Utah (2024), TCU (2023), Colorado State (2023), Oregon (2023), Nebraska (2023), Stanford (2023)
