Probably the most polarizing gamers in your complete 2025 NFL Draft class lastly has a house.
And it took an extended than anticipated to be taught his vacation spot. Loads longer.
Shedeur Sanders slid out of the primary spherical on Thursday evening, falling to Day Two of the 2025 NFL Draft. However the slide didn’t cease there. Sanders was not drafted on Friday evening, sliding all the best way to the fifth spherical.
The place the slide lastly ended.
The Cleveland Browns, regardless of passing on Sanders a number of instances and drafting Dillon Gabriel on Friday evening, made the Colorado quarterback at No. 144, early within the fifth spherical.
Sanders’ pre-draft course of concerned an unbelievable quantity of debate within the media house, because it appeared like several doable end result was on the desk for the Colorado QB. There have been instances it appeared like he could be the second participant drafted, then there have been instances it seemed like he would possibly fall out of the primary spherical fully, which he ultimately did.
Now we lastly know the place he’s beginning his NFL profession.
Here’s what stands out in his sport, and a serious space he wants to enhance.
Excelling at job one
There are lots of facets to high-level quarterback play. However you’ll be able to doubtlessly distill the job into one core mantra.
Can you set the soccer the place it must be, when it must be there?
After all, many parts go into answering that query, comparable to the flexibility to diagnose a protection, however accuracy is a essential trait. If the quarterback can’t put the soccer the place it must be, success for the offense shall be exhausting to return by.
Then there may be the delineation between normal accuracy and ball placement. A great throw is one which the receiver can catch — that is normal accuracy. However a greater throw is one which both the receiver can catch whereas in stride and switch into an enormous achieve, or maybe one which shields the receiver away from the leverage of the closest defender.
That’s ball placement.
Sanders excels at each.
His mixture of normal accuracy, and elite-level ball placement, stands out on this class. For instance, Cory Kinnan, who does great work charting quarterbacks, had this to say in his evaluation of Sanders: “Sanders’ Weighted On-Goal Proportion of 73.26 p.c makes him one of the crucial correct quarterbacks I’ve ever charted. Amongst each quarterback I’ve charted over the past three years, solely Jayden Daniels has the next Weighted On-Goal Proportion, and by only one p.c.”
Kinnan didn’t cease there.
“Sanders is just not solely probably the most correct quarterback on this yr’s class by a large margin, however he is likely one of the most correct quarterbacks I’ve ever charted,” continues Kinnan. “Whereas Sanders’ bodily instruments could also be average-to-slightly above common, and whereas he has to proceed to work on his already improved pocket work, the ball placement and accuracy is simple. Simply give your man an opportunity. Sanders does that higher than anybody else on this quarterback class.”
Sanders’ accuracy and ball placement stand out on movie as nicely.
Take this play in opposition to Utah, as Sanders throws a safety-splitter in opposition to a Cowl 2 look (click on the embed in the event you can’t view the video):
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What I like about this throw is the ball placement. Sanders leads the receiver away from the closest defender, the cut up security on the proper facet of the sphere. Sanders’ movie is full of examples of the quarterback figuring out precisely the place the closest risk is, and main his receiver away from hazard. That’s the way you create massive performs in an offense … and the way you make buddies within the locker room as a QB.
This subsequent instance, a deep shot in opposition to a Cowl 2 look from Kansas State, highlights Sanders’ accuracy down the sphere. Watch as he places this throw within the excellent spot, throwing from the left hashmark to the proper sideline:
You can’t throw this route any higher than Sanders does on this instance.
This subsequent play is a landing go to Travis Hunter Jr. in opposition to UCF, approaching a Bang-8 publish route. Sanders is aware of a security is lurking in the midst of the sphere, so watch as he throttles Hunter down, placing this throw on his body reasonably than main him to hazard:
In-breaking routes are sometimes meant to be thrown on the body, as little as doable, to keep away from an enormous collision. Sanders does that to perfection right here.
Right here is one other instance of Sanders understanding the leverage of the defender, and main his receiver open. On this play in opposition to Oklahoma State Sanders throws a slot fade to the proper facet of the formation, and with the defender shaded to the within, Sanders leads his WR to open house exterior the numbers:
Merely pretty, to borrow a phrase from Max Verstappen.
Whereas many of those examples have come on throws exterior the hashmarks, and even exterior the numbers, Sanders is just not afraid to problem a protection over the center. That is maybe the place his ball placement shines probably the most. Take this instance in opposition to Texas Tech, the place he splits a pair of beneath defenders utilizing velocity, anticipation, and ball placement:
Or this throw in opposition to Baylor, the place he once more throttles down his receiver as a result of he is aware of the bottom security is lurking, ready to ship an enormous hit:
Sanders is a ball placement specialist, and that’s typically job one for a QB.
It’s a job he does extraordinarily nicely.
Can he decline the invitation?
The most important query in terms of Sanders: Can he decline the invitation?
What I imply by that’s this. Sanders confronted a ton of stress within the pocket. Final yr alone he was sacked 42 instances, which was really an enchancment over the 52 sacks he endured in the course of the 2023 marketing campaign. He certainly performed behind an offensive line that struggled to guard him at instances, and never all of these 94 sacks have been of his creation.
However a few of them have been.
There have been definitely moments at Colorado the place Sanders invited the stress, and it turned one thing of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s a faculty of thought that “stress is manufacturing” for a protection, the “physique blow” principle that the extra you stress a quarterback, the extra they start to really feel stress, whether or not actual or perceived.
That definitely crept into Sanders’ sport.
Take this play in opposition to Nebraska, a sport the place he was sacked 5 instances:
There’s a window for Sanders to throw this in-breaking route on the proper facet of the sphere. However as a substitute of letting the ball fly, he hesitates within the pocket. The explanation? Doubtless the go rusher beginning to break by means of the inside of the offensive line. Reasonably than making this throw, Sanders begins to really feel that stress, anticipating a necessity to increase the play together with his legs reasonably than making an anticipation throw.
The outcome? A sack, and a lack of 11 yards. A 1st-and-10 state of affairs turns into 2nd and 21, and there are usually not many performs within the playbook for that down-and-distance situation.
On this play in opposition to Colorado State, watch how shortly Sanders pulls this ball down and turns from a passer right into a runner:
It is a mirrored curl/flat idea, with a deep curl route in addition to a path to the flat on each side of the sphere. The 2 curl routes are open — significantly the curl to the left facet of the sphere — however Sanders by no means provides them an opportunity, instantly pulling this ball down and turning right into a scrambler.
He slides down for a minimal achieve, however that’s on a Saturday in opposition to Colorado State. What occurs on an NFL Sunday?
One remaining instance, on this play in opposition to Baylor:
Once we speak about a quarterback making anticipation throws, it is a prime instance. Sanders has the post-corner route on the left facet breaking open. If he lets this throw go together with a little bit of anticipation, the Buffaloes have an enormous play.
As a substitute, he hesitates. Whereas he does attempt to climb the pocket, the hesitation invitations the stress off the sting, and the potential massive play as a substitute goes into the books as a sack.
Touchdown spot is crucial for Sanders. Now that we all know the place he’s going to begin his NFL profession, we will begin to piece collectively how his rookie season will unfold. However by sliding to the fifth spherical, the expectations shall be very completely different for Sanders as he acclimates to life within the NFL.
After all, the larger half to the story right here is why else Sanders fell to the fifth spherical. The movie and enjoying model is a part of the story, however within the days and weeks to return, extra will emerge about how Sanders dealt with the pre-draft course of.
However between the traces, that is what he does nicely, and the place he wants to enhance.
