The Beginning: 2023 – A Star in the Making

Shedeur Sanders walks into a room, and you notice two things immediately: the quiet confidence of a man who knows his worth and the broad shoulders of someone who’s carried the weight of expectations since he was a kid as the son of an NFL Hall of Famer. At 6’2”, he’s not the tallest quarterback in the room, but his frame—lean, shapely, and built for durability—hints at a player who’s ready to take hits and keep moving forward.

The comparisons started early. Goff. Burrow. Stroud. Names that echo through the halls of NFL draft rooms. Sanders isn’t just another name on the list; he’s a blend of some similar traits from each. Like Goff, he’s a surgeon in the pocket, dissecting defenses with precision and relentless aggression. Like Burrow, he’s got that unshakable moxie, the kind that makes you believe he’s always one play away from turning the tide even after a negative play. And like Stroud, he’s got the arm talent and pinpoint accuracy to make throws that leave you wondering if you just witnessed magic.

But what sets Sanders apart isn’t just his arm or his IQ—it’s his feet. In the pocket, he moves like a seasoned point guard, sliding and shuffling to buy time, always keeping his eyes downfield. His footwork is a masterclass in balance and poise, a trait that draws inevitable comparisons to Tom Brady. No, he’s not Brady—not yet—but the blueprint is there. The way he navigates pressure, the way he delivers the ball with pinpoint accuracy, it’s all reminiscent of the GOAT.

The knock on Sanders early in 2023 was his ability to throw on the run. While he wasn’t bad, he wasn’t elite either. Play-action boots and rollouts were areas where he lagged behind guys like Goff and Stroud. But even then, there was a sense that he was close—so close—to putting it all together.

And then there’s the mental game. Sanders isn’t just a quarterback; he’s a chess player. His pre-snap reads are elite, his post-snap adjustments even better. He sees the field like a veteran, anticipating blitzes, identifying mismatches, and delivering the ball where it needs to go. It’s not just about arm talent; it’s about knowing where to go with the ball before the snap even happens.

The Evolution: 2024 – Precision Engineered

Fast forward to the end of the 2024 season, and Shedeur Sanders isn’t just a prospect anymore—he’s a phenomenon. The raw talent that flashed early in 2023 has been refined into something legendary. The footwork? Still elite. The pocket presence? Even better. The ability to throw on the run? Now a legitimate weapon.

Beyond the stats and highlights, what truly sets Sanders apart—it’s the fact that he’s off the charts as a pocket passer prototype. When you talk about the archetype of a quarterback who thrives between the tackles, who can dissect defenses with surgical precision, who can stand tall in the face of pressure and deliver strikes with unshakable poise, you’re talking about Shedeur Sanders.

His processing speed is lightning-fast, his footwork in the pocket is cleaner than a freshly swept floor, and his accuracy is borderline robotic. He’s not just a quarterback; he’s a maestro, conducting the offense with a level of control and command that feels almost unfair. His pre-snap reads are so advanced at this level that it’s like he’s playing chess while everyone else is stuck on checkers. And when the ball is snapped? That’s when the magic happens. His post-snap adjustments are a thing of beauty, a blend of instinct, intelligence, and anticipation that leaves defenders grasping at air.

Sanders truly distinguishes himself through his aggressiveness. He’s not content to dink and dunk his way down the field. He attacks defenses with a fearlessness that borders on arrogance, threading needles and pushing the ball into tight windows with a confidence that makes you forget he’s still just a college quarterback. And yet, for all his aggression, he rarely puts the ball in harm’s way. His turnover-worthy play rate of 1.2% is a testament to his ability to walk the fine line between daring and reckless.

But the stats only scratch the surface. What stands out is how Sanders performs under pressure. Facing pressure on a staggering 36% of his drop-backs, he posted an adjusted completion percentage of 81.6%—a number that puts him in the same stratosphere as Joe Burrow’s legendary 2019 season. His pressure-to-sack ratio of 20.5% is a testament to his ability to keep plays alive, even when the pocket collapses around him.

Cory Kinnan’s breakdown of Sanders’ 2024 season adds another layer to the narrative. His deep ball accuracy (29/42, 69.05%), outside-the-numbers precision (31/41, 75.61%), over-the-middle throws (42/57, 73.68%), and remarkable short-game efficiency (251/274, 91.61%) paint the picture of a quarterback who can hurt you from anywhere on the field. His raw on-target percentage of 85.27% and total WOT% (Weighted On-Target Percentage) of 74.58% is a reflection of a player who doesn’t just throw the ball—he places it.

The Strengths: What Makes Shedeur Special

1. Moxy and Toughness: Sanders has that Brady-like aura. He’s unshakable, whether he’s leading a game-winning drive or taking a hit in the pocket.
2. Football IQ: Elite doesn’t even begin to describe it. His ability to read defenses pre- and post-snap is as good as it gets at this stage.
3. Foot Speed in the Pocket: This is where Sanders separates himself. His ability to navigate pressure with pace while keeping his eyes downfield is a rare gift.
4. Precision Passing: He doesn’t just complete passes; he puts the ball in spots where only his receiver can make a play. He constantly protects his WRs and he knows exactly what type of throw and ball placement is needed based on the coverage.
5. Elusiveness: In the pocket, he’s like a seasoned point guard, slipping away from pressure with a combination of instinct and change of direction.
6. Studious Nature: Sanders is a film junkie. His dedication to studying opponents and refining his craft is reminiscent of Peyton Manning’s legendary preparation. Coach Prime has stated that Shedeur has been reading defenses since he was 8 years old.
7. Intangibles: Leadership, poise, and an unrelenting drive to win. These are the qualities that can’t be measured but are felt by everyone in the huddle. Just find each interview with all of his offensive linemen, running backs, tight ends, and wideouts.
8. Consistency with Positive Plays: Sanders has an uncanny ability to avoid negative plays (sacks aside) and keep the offense on schedule. Whether it’s a well-timed audible or a perfectly placed back-shoulder throw, he consistently puts his team in a position to succeed.
9. Self-Awareness and Ball Security: Sanders knows exactly who he is on the field. He doesn’t try to play outside his strengths, and his decision-making as a pocket passer is impeccable. With a turnover-worthy play rate of just 1.2%, he rarely puts the ball in harm’s way—a trait that separates the good from the great.
10. Elite Pocket Passing: Sanders is the prototype of what it means to be an elite pocket passer as a prospect. His ability to process, deliver, and dominate from within the pocket is as good as it gets at the collegiate level.
11. Investment in Recovery: Sanders puts his NIL income into his recovery, a practice followed by top-flight athletes like LeBron James, Paul Millsap, and Tom Brady. This commitment to recovery is highly noted to improve longevity and maximize performance. It’s a trait he shares with his teammate Travis Hunter, and it speaks volumes about his dedication to staying at the peak of his game.

The Areas for Growth: Room to Improve

1. Play-Action: It’s the one area where Sanders still lags behind the other elite prospects. Based on his Colorado film, we don’t see many traditional play-action concepts outside of RPOs, and even those leave a lot to be desired. His selling of RPOs is particularly poor, often failing to fully commit to the run fake, which tips off defenders and limits the effectiveness of the play. Improving his ability to sell play-action and execute traditional concepts could take his game to another level.
2. Size: At 6’2”, 208 pounds, he’s not the biggest quarterback in the draft. But his toughness and durability mitigate this concern.
3. Improvising: While his creativity can lead to magic, it can also lead to mistakes. Learning when to take risks and when to play it safe will be key.
4. Throwing Motion: The foundational concern with Shedeur Sanders’ throwing mechanics centers on his over-the-top delivery, a motion that echoes Drew Brees’ signature release—likely a byproduct of their similar builds and elongated wingspans. When Sanders releases the ball from this high angle, the nose of the football tends to dip slightly, causing passes to lose energy rather than maintaining the tight, efficient spiral needed for maximum velocity. This quirk in his mechanics becomes most apparent on deep and boundary throws, where precision and sustained ball speed are non-negotiable. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s a noticeable wrinkle that needs ironing out as he prepares for the NFL.
   That said, there’s a clear path to improvement. Sanders has already shown flashes of a more efficient three-quarter release, particularly during reactive throws when he’s forced to adjust on the fly. In these moments, the ball zips out of his hand with excellent velocity and zip, a testament to his untapped potential. Much like Brees, who refined his mechanics to become one of the most accurate passers in NFL history, Sanders has the tools to make this adjustment without sacrificing the natural accuracy and timing that make him special. It’s not about reinventing his game—it’s about fine-tuning it to unlock another level of consistency and power.
5. Drifting in the Pocket: At times, he drifts too far back, creating unnecessary pressure. Cleaning this up will make him even more effective.
6. Sack Rate: While his pressure-to-sack ratio is solid, there’s room to improve his ability to avoid sacks altogether—something that’s been a glaring issue. Over the past two seasons, Sanders led the nation in sacks. In 2024, he was directly responsible for a nation-leading 44 pressures, 21 hurries, and 17 sacks. For quarterbacks with over 50% of their team’s snaps, Sanders ranked 4th in the nation, responsible for 26.3% of the pressures he faced. Compare that to Joe Burrow’s 2019 season, where he was responsible for just 14.8%. To be fair, Sanders showed contrast from his time at Jackson State, where he posted a 12.2% pressure responsibility rate as a true freshman in 2021 and 19.6% as a sophomore in 2022. But even Burrow, in his junior year at LSU, was at 17.1%. Sanders will need to tighten up his internal clock and the organization that selects him needs to heavily invest in a quality rushing attack if he wants to survive against elite NFL pass rushers.
7. Spatial Awareness in the Pocket: Occasionally, Sanders misjudges the depth of his drop or the positioning of rushers, leading to avoidable pressures. Tightening this up will elevate his game.
8. Arm Strength: Sanders’ arm is solid—good enough to make every NFL throw—but it’s not elite. While his accuracy and timing mitigate this, there will be questions about whether his B- to B arm strength will limit his ceiling against the league’s best defenses.
9. Below-Average Athleticism: While Sanders’ straight-line speed is good for the quarterback position (see his JSU/Southern run), it’s not a standout trait. His agility and acceleration, however, are below average, which could limit his ability to extend plays or pick up yards with his legs at the next level. Acceleration is a critical part of athleticism for a quarterback because they must be able to explode out of the backfield to reach open green grass and run for extra yards.
10. Limited Versatility as a Prototype: While Sanders excels as a pocket passer, he lacks the athleticism to thrive as a balanced or dual-threat quarterback. His ability to throw on the run is solid, but he’s not a mobile quarterback, and he’s certainly not a running quarterback. This limits his versatility and could make him more one-dimensional at the next level. Additionally, while he’s a decent game manager, he leaves a lot to be desired in this area.
    His lack of a conservative nature, low-end play-action skills as seen on tape, and smaller frame all contribute to this. To truly excel, he’ll need to learn how to mix his natural aggression with a more measured, conservative approach when the situation calls for it. He also needs to become more comfortable taking profits—checking down, moving on from plays, and avoiding the temptation to hunt for big plays at all costs. Too often, he’s willing to take a big sack instead of throwing the ball away, a habit that must be corrected at the next level.
11. Overconfidence in Off-Platform Throws: Sanders appears too confident in his off-platform game, often attempting difficult throws when not set. While his accuracy and touch are impressive, the lack of zip on these passes can lead to dangerous situations.

Shedeur’s Biggest Misconception: He Holds the Ball Too Long

Let’s clear the air on one of the most common critiques of Shedeur Sanders: the idea that he holds the ball too long. Time to throw (TTT) is a stat that’s often misunderstood. It’s not just about how long it takes to get the ball out on pass attempts—it’s the average time to throw on *all dropbacks*. That includes sacks (Shedeur was sacked 41 times in 2024) and scrambles where he crosses the line of scrimmage (he scrambled 39 times). For a quarterback like Sanders, who thrives on extending plays and navigating pressure, TTT can be skewed.

Here’s the breakdown of Shedeur’s Time to Throw (TTT) based on passing depth and type:

• Deep passes (20+ yards): 3.40s
• Medium passes (10-19 yards): 3.31s
• Short passes (0-9 yards): 2.47s
• Play Action: 2.55s
• Screen: 1.76s
• Behind LOS: 1.00s
• Kept Clean: 2.36s
• Under Pressure: 4.14s
• Blitzed: 2.92s

Now, let’s put this into perspective. Shedeur’s adjusted completion percentage (ADJ%) when getting the ball out in less than 2.5 seconds is an eye-popping 91.7%. For context, Bo Nix—often regarded as one of the greatest short-passing prospects of all time—had an ADJ% of 89.8% under the same conditions. Joe Burrow? 86.6%. C.J. Stroud? 81.8% as a junior and 80.5% as a senior. Even Caleb Williams, who many consider a generational talent, posted an ADJ% of 85.3% and 87.2% in his final two seasons. Shedeur’s numbers are elite, plain and simple.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Of Shedeur’s 481 pass attempts in 2024, 154 were medium or deep throws—passes that typically require him to step up in the pocket or escape pressure to deliver the ball. These throws, which accounted for 32% of his attempts, naturally take longer to develop. Even a receiver like Tyreek Hill needs more than 2 seconds to get open on a deep route.

On the flip side, 327 of his attempts (68%) were short passes or throws behind the line of scrimmage, where his average TTT was a blistering 1.74 seconds. That’s faster than most quarterbacks in college football. When kept clean, his TTT drops to 2.36 seconds, and when blitzed, it’s still a respectable 2.92 seconds.

So, why the misconception? It’s simple: Shedeur’s TTT is skewed by the nature of his game. He’s not a dink-and-dunk quarterback. He’s a playmaker who thrives on pushing the ball downfield, even when the pocket collapses around him. His combined TTT of 3.00 seconds reflects his willingness to keep plays alive and hunt for big gains, not an inability to get the ball out quickly.

The numbers don’t lie: Shedeur Sanders is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in college football when it comes to getting the ball out on time. The narrative that he holds the ball too long? It’s time to put that one to rest.

A Program Transformer

By the end of the 2024 season, Shedeur Sanders didn’t just prove he could play—he proved he could transform. At Jackson State, he took a 3-win program and turned it into an 11-win powerhouse, then followed it up with a 12-win season that put the SWAC on the national map. When he arrived at Colorado, the Buffaloes were a shell of their former selves, sporting a PFF grade of 49.5—the lowest in FBS history. By the end of his first season, that number had jumped to 70.2. By the end of 2024, it was 88.4. That’s a 38.9-point improvement in just two seasons. At Jackson State, he took the program from a 60.9 overall grade to a staggering 90.8—nearly a 30-point leap.

These aren’t just numbers; they’re a testament to Sanders’ ability to elevate everyone around him. He doesn’t just win games; he transforms programs.

As Coach Von put it, “The great ones never have the bazooka arm or the wide receiver legs. Show me the guy with the cerebral, accurate, and consistent traits, and I’ll show you a champion.” Shedeur Sanders is that guy.

Final Thoughts

Shedeur Sanders has been my QB1 in each of the last two draft classes, even as he chose to return to school over names like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and J.J. McCarthy—who was my QB2 for most of last year before being downgraded due to concerns about his overall polish. I didn’t finish scouting Jayden Daniels until later in the process, but he eventually climbed to QB1 for me in the 2024 draft, earning the only Top 10 grade I handed out for a quarterback. For some, that might be hard to believe. After all, Shedeur is “just” a solid quarterback. He was solid last year, and now he’s more polished, more refined, and bigger than the player we saw in 2023. He’s not the most talented, not the most gifted, and his upside isn’t glaringly obvious.

But here’s the thing: Shedeur is an elite pocket passer, and I’m a big believer in prototypes. The elite prototype players—those who excel in one specific area—are the ones who tend to shine as rookies in the NFL. Everyone wants a balanced quarterback, but let’s be real: only Joe Burrow has truly thrived in that mold, and Andrew Luck was exceptional even coming out of Stanford. Most top quarterback prospects are solid at best. Some, like Michael Penix Jr. and Cam Ward, are average with sky-high upside. Others, like Justin Fields and Zach Wilson, haven’t translated to the NFL—and we won’t know if they ever will.

From my scouting experience, prototypes are the easiest to translate to the NFL, especially if they’re elite. Look at the rookies who’ve succeeded: Matt Ryan (Game Manager), Russell Wilson (Mobile), Robert Griffin III (Running), and Jayden Daniels (Running). Then there are those who blend two categories effortlessly but lean heavily into one, like Bo Nix (Mobile/Game Manager) and Brock Purdy (Game Manager/Mobile). Let’s review their rookie years:

• Matt Ryan: 78.8 Overall, 85.4 Passing Grade
• Russell Wilson: 90.6 PFF Grade
• Jayden Daniels: 90.6 PFF Grade
• Brock Purdy: 77.7 PFF Grade
• Bo Nix: 78.3 PFF Grade
• Robert Griffin III: 81.4 Overall, 85.5 Passing Grade

Even Andrew Luck, who was arguably the best overall quarterback prospect this century, posted a 66.7 overall grade as a rookie. Burrow, the second-best QB prospect this century, started with a 75.1. Balanced quarterbacks, for all their potential, often take the most time to develop. C.J. Stroud had an insane rookie year for a balanced QB at 83.2, but let’s not forget: he’s heavily leaning toward being a pocket passer. Most balanced QBs struggle badly as rookies. The ones who succeed early are usually elite at a specific prototype.

That’s why I’ve always given preference to quarterbacks who are elite at one thing. And that’s why Shedeur Sanders has a Top 10 grade. What does that mean? It means he can step into most NFL teams and elevate them to their true potential. If you think you have a solid team—QB aside—that’s exactly what you’ll get with Shedeur. It’s not far off from what Matt Ryan did for Atlanta or what C.J. Stroud did for the Texans as a rookie.

With all due respect to Cam Ward, who is a superb talent with elite arm talent, Shedeur is my clear QB1 this year. I truly believe that if you give Cam the right weapons, he can take your squad to the next level and compete for titles. Like Michael Penix Jr. last year, I see Ward as a franchise quarterback who will have a long, successful career, even if he experiences some growing pains early on or needs a short “redshirt” year to adjust.

Do I believe Shedeur is a franchise quarterback? Absolutely. Do I think he can crash the Top 4 in the NFL (Jackson, Allen, Burrow, and Mahomes)? That’s a tall order, and he’ll have his work cut out for him, but it’s possible. It will require Shedeur to commit to becoming a complete quarterback, and it will require the right organization—one that invests in at least a decent offensive line, a quality running game, and competent weapons at wide receiver and tight end. Most importantly, they’ll need a true No. 1 option at WR or TE who can be relied upon in key moments.

My belief is this: Shedeur Sanders will change your franchise instantly. But thinking he’s the next Joe Burrow? That’s not the right mindset. Shedeur is his own player—a polished, cerebral, and relentless competitor who thrives in the pocket and elevates everyone around him. And in today’s NFL, that’s more than enough to build a winner.