Despite being a polarizing prospect, Sanders is poised to be one of the top picks in the draft.
Where to begin … Shedeur Sanders enters the 2025 NFL Draft as a four-year starter in high school and college and son of NFL great Deion Sanders, who served as his head coach at both NCAA stops.
A four-star prep recruit, Sanders the Younger came out of high school committed to play for Florida Atlantic but declined to join his father at Jackson State, where he’d start two seasons prior to following Deion to Colorado and immediate assume the starting gig there. Over the next two seasons, Sanders’ pedigree and natural talent were put under the national microscope, and he emerged from it as one of the premier players in the draft class, regardless of position.
For all of his efforts, Sanders was honored with the following accolades:
2021: Won Jerry Rice Award (top FCS freshman), Second-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference, SWAC Freshman of the Year
2022: SWAC Player of the Year, First-team All-SWAC, HBCU First-team All-American
2023: Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 Conference
2024: Second-team Associated Press All-American, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, First-team All-Big 12
Height: 6-foot-1 1/2
Weight: 212 pounds
40 time: 4.75 seconds (estimated)
Table: QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (2022-24)
Year |
Team |
Class |
G |
Passing |
Rushing |
Cmp |
Att |
Cmp% |
Yds |
TD |
Int |
Att |
Yds |
TD |
2021 |
Jackson State |
Fr |
13 |
272 |
413 |
65.9 |
3,231 |
30 |
8 |
103 |
-17 |
3 |
2022 |
Jackson State |
So |
13 |
341 |
483 |
70.6 |
3,732 |
40 |
6 |
85 |
173 |
6 |
2023 |
Colorado |
Jr |
11 |
298 |
430 |
69.3 |
3,230 |
27 |
3 |
111 |
-77 |
4 |
2024* |
Colorado |
Sr |
13 |
353 |
477 |
74.0 |
4,134 |
37 |
10 |
100 |
-50 |
4 |
Career |
1,264 |
1,803 |
70.1 |
14,327 |
134 |
27 |
399 |
29 |
17 |
*includes postseason/bowl games (stats from ESPN & Sports Reference)
Pros
- Extremely accurate ball placement, especially on timing-based throws
- Superb footwork — rarely caught flat-footed and relies on excellent lower-body mechanics to enhance accuracy
- Enough movement skills inside the pocket to buy time and climb the pocket — also consistently demonstrates the ability square up while on the move
- NFL-caliber knowledge for dissecting defenses pre- and post-snap — clearly a benefit of having a Hall-of-Fame father at his disposal
- Understands how to use nuances to his favor — shrugs, pump-fakes, looking off defenders
- Played well vs. stiffer competition moving from Jackson State to Colorado
- Pretty good at layering throws over coverage
- Willingness to stand in the pocket and take a hit for a developing play
- Natural fit for a West Coast offensive system
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Cons
- Slightly undersized — can he withstand the pounding of being an NFL quarterback? Suffered a fracture in his back during the 2023 season
- Lacks raw athleticism, especially startling given his father’s freakish traits
- Takes more sacks and hits than necessary — holds the ball too long at times when trying to hit the big play rather than taking incremental wins or throwing it away
- Personality type may turn off NFL coaches
- Lacks elite arm talent, which is most apparent if he tries to make a late delivery outside the hashes
- Limited system fit as a pocket passer — won’t be a good option for RPO-heavy designs
Fantasy football outlook
Sanders’ long-term potential is high but needs to come with the caveat of system fit matters more with him than most quarterbacks. Another issue at play here is fantasy quarterbacking skews heavily toward mobility these days, and Sanders’ ground game offers little more than a short-range TD plunge.
Purely from a passing standpoint, Sanders has QB1 fantasy upside. He figures to be a Day 1 real-life starter in most plausible draft scenarios. Tennessee, Cleveland, and the New York Giants all need quarterbacks atop the NFL draft, but none of those teams reportedly are where Sanders himself wants to play. There appears to be mutual interest from New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Las Vegas, all teams that need a positional solution.
For immediate results, Pittsburgh would be the best place for Sanders’ fantasy worth — provided the team doesn’t add another veteran (ahem, Aaron Rodgers). Even if Sanders were to start Week 1, he’s still little more than a late-round QB2 in 2025.