2020 NFL Draft Profile: Air Force WR Geraud Sanders

Can the Falcons wide receiver make it to the NFL?

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2020 NFL Draft Profile: Air Force WR Geraud Sanders

Can the Falcons wideout make it to the NFL?

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Sanders has pro potential.

Air Force wide receiver Geraud Sanders is a one-of-a-kind talent. Operating in an offense that is a triple-option attack makes it hard for a wide receiver to stand out, yet Sanders did that by averaging 24.87 yards per catch this past year and seven touchdowns on just 30 catches.

Coming from a service academy used to mean that the player had to wait until this commitment to the Air Force is complete, but that has changed and now, if athletes are good enough, they can go straight to the league and fulfill the commitment in other ways.

Sanders’s catch rate and touchdown rate per catch is amazing and could be something that NFL teams would want to have on their team. Those numbers won’t scale up to more production, but he is worth taking a flyer on.

Strengths

Sanders’s physical stature, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, makes him a legitimate prospect at the next level.

Cleanly catching nearly everything that comes his way is a big plus and his biggest strength. It was partly due to the play action and run-heavy attack that Air Force ran on offense, but Sanders also did his part own and make the plays.

There were a dozen scouts at the pro day, which was a shock, but perhaps it should have been expected due to the loosening of rules for players to go pro before serving their commitment.

“I wanted to show the scouts I’m an all-around player,” Sanders said at the Falcons pro days. “Coming from Air Force there’s the stigma that we might not run the most routes, but I feel like I’m a pretty good route runner and showed that today.”

Weaknesses

Playing in a service academy is the biggest issue due to working within an offense that is not used at all in the NFL. He also has not had the same number of reps compared to other receivers in the draft and that is a big concern for teams.

In addition, the type of routes he runs at the Academy are not exactly in-depth or complex, so there will be a learning curve running more advanced routes. Coming from an Academy, though, there is no reason to worry about having an issue learning new things.

Draft Projection

The wide receiver group in the 2020 NFL Draft is deep and that pushes Sanders down the pecking order. Odds are he will go undrafted, but there is a good chance he will get signed as an undrafted free agent.

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