Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Cons:

• Holding onto the ball
  The first thing that most people notice about Sanders is his willingness to hold onto the ball. While he's gotten better about executing the initial play-call, Sanders takes a ton of sacks and invites pressure onto himself. His pressure-to-sack rate has broken the 20% mark in three of his four seasons, and his career time-to-throw rate is almost three seconds. Sanders has to dump the ball off whenever possible for easy yards and trust his playmakers at the next level.
  
  
• Physical traits
  Sanders has just enough to be a standout athlete in college, but his arm won't be on the elite level in the NFL. His evasiveness, quickness, and speed will be good but not great. His throwing motion and footwork is dramatically improved from where it once was, but he has to continue being technically sound to blossom into his full potential instead of relying on escaping tough situations.
  
  
• The sideshow
  It's more than fair to be concerned about whether Deion Sanders will interfere with his son's NFL career. If it turns out that Sanders will be more like LaVarr Ball, who disappeared after his sons entered the NBA, then there won't be much of a sideshow. However, the onslaught of attention drawn by the family will turn some away, and could be an issue in the NFL. 

Player Evaluation:

A unique player because of his lineage and collegiate path, Shedeur Sanders brings a sharp game to the table. He doesn't have the physical tools to translate perfectly and pick up where he left off at Colorado, so he'll have to be even more disciplined as a pocket thrower to hit his ceiling. He's a massively skilled passer and processor, though, and his developmental curve is as encouraging as anyone's in the last decade. It's hard to imagine him busting unless he struggles to deal with failure away from his father. 

Player Comparison:

Pro Comp: C.J. Stroud
Even without the strongest arm or most athletic body, Sanders makes every throw with precision and velocity. He rarely repeats mistakes and seems to take in information at a high level. Like C.J. Stroud, teams will get a high-floor player who is more of a traditional quarterback compared to a dual-threat. Sanders is more willing to extend plays but also is more of a gamer than Stroud, and sometimes that invites more negative outcomes like sacks. 

A to Z Rankings:

A to Z Big Board Ranking: #7 overall, #2 quarterback

A to Z Draft Grade: 9.46

Draft projection: Early first round