One of the polarizing gamers in all the 2025 NFL Draft class lastly has a house.
And it took an extended than anticipated to be taught his vacation spot. Lots 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 way in which 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 every attainable 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 may 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 recreation, and a serious space he wants to enhance.
Excelling at job one
There are lots of features to high-level quarterback play. However you’ll be able to doubtlessly distill the job into one core mantra.
Can you place the soccer the place it must be, when it must be there?
In fact, many parts go into answering that query, similar to the flexibility to diagnose a protection, however accuracy is a needed trait. If the quarterback can’t put the soccer the place it must be, success for the offense might be laborious to return by.
Then there may be 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 an enormous acquire, 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 large work charting quarterbacks, had this to say in his evaluation of Sanders: “Sanders’ Weighted On-Goal Proportion of 73.26 % 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 a better Weighted On-Goal Proportion, and by only one %.”
Kinnan didn’t cease there.
“Sanders shouldn’t be solely probably the most correct quarterback on this 12 months’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 (click on the embed in case you can’t view the video):
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What I really like about this throw is the ball placement. Sanders leads the receiver away from the closest defender, the break up security on the suitable facet 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 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 sector. Watch as he places this throw within the good spot, throwing from the left hashmark to the suitable 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 submit route. Sanders is aware of a security is lurking in the course of the sector, so watch as he throttles Hunter down, placing this throw on his body moderately 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 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 suitable facet of the formation, and with the defender shaded to the within, Sanders leads his WR to open house 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 shouldn’t be 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 usually job one for a QB.
It’s a job he does extraordinarily nicely.
Can he decline the invitation?
The most important query with regards to Sanders: Can he decline the invitation?
What I imply by that’s this. Sanders confronted a ton of strain within the pocket. Final 12 months alone he was sacked 42 instances, which was truly an enchancment over the 52 sacks he endured through 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 had been of his creation.
However a few of them had been.
There have been actually moments at Colorado the place Sanders invited the strain, and it turned one thing of a self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s a faculty of thought that “strain is manufacturing” for a protection, the “physique blow” concept that the extra you strain a quarterback, the extra they start to really feel strain, whether or not actual or perceived.
That actually 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 suitable facet of the sector. However as a substitute of letting the ball fly, he hesitates within the pocket. The rationale? Possible the cross rusher beginning to break by way of 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 together with his legs moderately than making an anticipation throw.
The consequence? A sack, and a lack of 11 yards. A 1st-and-10 state of affairs turns into 2nd and 21, and there usually are not 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 each side of the sector. The 2 curl routes are open — notably the curl to the left facet of the sector — 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 acquire, however that’s on a Saturday in opposition to Colorado State. What occurs on an NFL Sunday?
One last 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 facet breaking open. If he lets this throw go along with a little bit of anticipation, the Buffaloes have an enormous 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 a substitute goes into the books as a sack.
Touchdown spot is vital for Sanders. Now that we all know the place he’s going to start out his NFL profession, we will begin to piece collectively how his rookie season will unfold. However by sliding to the fifth spherical, the expectations might be very completely different for Sanders as he acclimates to life within the NFL.
In fact, the larger half to the story right here is why else Sanders fell to the fifth spherical. The movie and taking part in fashion 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 strains, that is what he does nicely, and the place he wants to enhance.