One of the crucial polarizing gamers in the complete 2025 NFL Draft class lastly has a house.
And it took an extended than anticipated to study his vacation spot. Quite a bit longer.
Shedeur Sanders slid out of the primary spherical on Thursday night time, falling to Day Two of the 2025 NFL Draft. However the slide didn’t cease there. Sanders was not drafted on Friday night time, 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 night time, made the Colorado quarterback at No. 144, early within the fifth spherical.
Sanders’ pre-draft course of concerned an unimaginable quantity of debate within the media area, because it appeared like several attainable end result was on the desk for the Colorado QB. There have been instances it appeared like he can be the second participant drafted, then there have been instances it seemed like he may fall out of the primary spherical completely, which he finally did.
Now we lastly know the place he’s beginning his NFL profession.
Here’s what stands out in his recreation, and a significant space he wants to enhance.
Excelling at job one
There are numerous elements to high-level quarterback play. However you may probably distill the job into one core mantra.
Can you place the soccer the place it must be, when it must be there?
After all, many parts go into answering that query, akin to the flexibility to diagnose a protection, however accuracy is a vital trait. If the quarterback can’t put the soccer the place it must be, success for the offense will probably be onerous to come back by.
Then there’s the delineation between normal accuracy and ball placement. An excellent 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 a giant 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 Share of 73.26 p.c makes him some of the 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 Share, and by only one p.c.”
Kinnan didn’t cease there.
“Sanders just isn’t solely probably the most correct quarterback on this yr’s class by a large margin, however he is among 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:
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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 aspect of the sector. Sanders’ movie is full of examples of the quarterback realizing 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 mates 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 sector. 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 cross 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 sector, so watch as he throttles Hunter down, placing this throw on his body quite than main him to hazard:
In-breaking routes are sometimes meant to be thrown on the body, as little as attainable, to keep away from a giant 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 aspect of the formation, and with the defender shaded to the within, Sanders leads his WR to open area exterior the numbers:
Merely beautiful, 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 just isn’t 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 a giant hit:
Sanders is a ball placement specialist, and that’s usually job one for a QB.
It’s a job he does extraordinarily nicely.
Can he decline the invitation?
The most important query relating to Sanders: Can he decline the invitation?
What I imply by that’s this. Sanders confronted a ton of strain 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 strain, and it grew to become one thing of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s a faculty of thought that “strain is manufacturing” for a protection, the “physique blow” principle that the extra you strain a quarterback, the extra they start to really feel strain, whether or not actual or perceived.
That definitely crept into Sanders’ recreation.
Take this play in opposition to Nebraska, a recreation the place he was sacked 5 instances:
There’s a window for Sanders to throw this in-breaking route on the proper aspect of the sector. However as an alternative of letting the ball fly, he hesitates within the pocket. The rationale? Probably the cross rusher beginning to break via the inside of the offensive line. Quite than making this throw, Sanders begins to really feel that strain, anticipating a necessity to increase the play along with his legs quite than making an anticipation throw.
The end result? A sack, and a lack of 11 yards. A 1st-and-10 state of affairs turns into 2nd and 21, and there will not be many performs within the playbook for that down-and-distance state of affairs.
On this play in opposition to Colorado State, watch how rapidly Sanders pulls this ball down and turns from a passer right into a runner:
This can be a mirrored curl/flat idea, with a deep curl route in addition to a path to the flat on either side of the sector. The 2 curl routes are open — notably the curl to the left aspect of the sector — however Sanders by no means offers 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:
After we discuss a quarterback making anticipation throws, it is a prime instance. Sanders has the post-corner route on the left aspect breaking open. If he lets this throw go along with a little bit of anticipation, the Buffaloes have a giant play.
As an alternative, he hesitates. Whereas he does try to climb the pocket, the hesitation invitations the strain off the sting, and the potential massive play as an alternative goes into the books as a sack.
Touchdown spot is vital for Sanders. Now that we all know the place he’s going to begin his NFL profession, we are able to begin to piece collectively how his rookie season will unfold. However by sliding to the fifth spherical, the expectations will probably be very totally different for Sanders as he acclimates to life within the NFL.
