Combine Q&A: Shedeur Sanders "Legendary"
Colorado star says he is best quarterback in draft
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— “NFL Draft Scout is for REAL football lovers—thorough, unbiased facts,” Super Bowl Champion Coach Jon Gruden.
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INDIANAPOLIS — As expected, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders attracted a sizeable audience during his media interview session at the Combine here Friday. They were there to hear Sanders shoot from the lip, as usual. And they were not disappointed.
He began and ended the interview with the word “legendary,” which he has every expectation of becoming. Many expect this is because he is the son of a legend, Deion “Prime Time” Sanders. Shedeur reflects his dad's self-confidence, but he is very much his own man.
He makes grand statements — including that he is the best quarterback in the draft — but does so in such a matter-of-fact manner that it is not bragging. To him, it is simply the truth.
While some might find it easy to call him arrogant, I think it is just supreme confidence (FC).
Sanders chose not to work out at the Combine. Here are early scouting notes from NFL Draft Scout:
QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, 6015 (6-2), 215, 4,70 (40low est)
Enters the 2025 NFL Draft after rewriting record books at Jackson State and Colorado. Son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, Shedeur led all FBS quarterbacks with an incredible 74.2% completion rate in 2024. His career included more than 13,000 passing yards, 121 touchdowns, and only 23 interceptions.
He shows elite processing speed and diagnostic ability that consistently shows up pre-snap, making NFL-caliber adjustments and working through progressions with veteran-like precision. Despite having a poor offensive line during college, he had surgical accuracy in the short and intermediate game.
Demonstrated great poise under duress — which was often — and maintained mechanics and accuracy and a cool demeanor in the midst of chaos.
His release is blink-quick, compact, and consistent when all hell is breaking loose. Advanced understanding of defensive leverage, particularly evident on intermediate routes where he consistently throws receivers open
He doesn’t have the quick-twitch athleticism of Deion, but he is an excellent athlete with awareness and body control to navigate into position to throw. … or run.
Finally, Shedeur knows who Shedeur is and isn’t and said so Friday
“My game's not played for my legs, and not even just my arm,” he said. “So in the longevity, the all-time greats, what's Tom Brady best trait? His mental, he's able to think. So if you have those traits of greatness, and I know where I'm heading, then why wouldn't the franchise pick me? You got the ultimate cheat code.”
And he is not talking about Madden Football.
FRANKLY: I like Shedeur more than most because I focus on his positives, which are many, rather than nitpick his negatives, such as trouble diagnosing complex defenses. Really? He and 90 percent of all QBs. He doesn't have a bazooka for an arm. Yeah, but he is deadly on medium passes in small windows and has great timing for bombs. He is not extremely fast, like his dad. Who is? Shedeur is well above average maneuvering in the pocket. Again, I like him more than most, and really want to see him as a pro. — FC
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QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado, Q&A
Friday, Feb. 28 at Indianapolis Combine
(How are you doing?)
SS: Legendary. Legendary.
(Your relationship with Tom Brady over the years, what has that relationship meant to you and how fired up would you be reunited with Las Vegas?)
SS: Tom Brady, he's an all-time great. Being able to have that resource, being able to have that person I'm able to talk to and call whenever I'm having questions about the game and he's able to relate to it because he did it at the highest level. It's truly amazing. I'm thankful for that.
(What is the origin of your relationship with Tom? What's the origin of your relationship with Tom? Did it come about through your dad or something?)
SS: Well, far back, I'll say a couple years ago, he extended his hand. He was like, come work out with me in Tampa. So we flew down there, dad came and we rode with him, he took me in his truck to this field, to his high school field. Then from then on he would just tell me knowledge and I filmed everything, I recorded everything. So now even sometimes I go back and just listen to the things that he said at that time and it registers, everything that he said back then registers now and it applies. So that's what I'm thankful for.
Video by Ron Katz, NFL Draft Scout
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(What has Pat Shurmur meant for your development and how does his NFL background prepare you for an NFL offense?)
Yeah, Coach Pat Shurmur, he is amazing. He's great. I'm truly thankful and glad that he was my last year offensive coordinator. I've been through six different OCs, so I'm able to adjust to any offense and every scheme and make it work. We went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back-to-back. So you don't think I could come to the NFL franchise and change the program again? It's history. We've done it again. It's always going to repeat itself.
(You talked about coming from Jackson State and Colorado. How do you feel like you've been able to perform for HBCUs. A lot of people said you wouldn't make it here)
SS: You think I'm worried about what critics say or what people got to say. You know who my dad is? They hated on him too. So it's almost normal. Without people hating, it's not normal for us. So we like the adversity. We like everything that comes with the name. That's why we are who we are.
(Surrounded by a ton of former NFL players and coaches at Colorado. Just talk about their experience kind helped you move along and get ready to the next level as well as adapting)
SS: So I'm truly thankful, you know my dad was able to assemble the staff he was able to assemble because it's knowledge everywhere. We're able to talk to the running back coach, receiver coaches, defensive coordinators, all these different types of coaches to give you their perspective on what you need to improve on and grow at. So I'm realistic, I know what I need to improve on, I know what I need to grow at and year by year, cut on the tape, those mistakes cut down yearly. So I'm hyper aware of everything I need to do to be successful, so I'm ready to get to it.
(You met with Raiders here? Visit?)
SS: Oh yeah, I met with them here. I met with a lot of teams here and it's truly exciting being able to meet coaches and everybody with the organization and the staff. So if they call me and they say, come on a visit, you know I'll be there.
(What NFL receivers you're excited to throw to at the next level?)
SS: NFL wide receivers I fantasize throwing to? Travis Hunter, LaJohntay Wester, Will Sheppard and Jimmy Horn.
(Decided where you'll be for the draft and why not go to Green Bay?)
SS: Because I feel like it makes more sense for me to be at home, be with the family, be with everybody that supported me. Cost-wise, it's not going to make sense to fly everybody there and it's going to be too much of a hassle. So it's best to deal with those people that have been supporting me this whole way and have been by my side.
(What's the skill set or trait that you're most proud of about your game?)
SS: I'm most proud about my mental. Yeah, because I know nothing can faze me, no pressure, no situation. These cameras, nothing fazed me. I grew up with it.
(Your big arm and your decision making is exactly what stands out. What's something you wish you could have showed off more at Colorado?)
SS: That's a good question. I like that one. I wish, we got in our groove, I'll say, sometimes late in games. So that's how I realized, OK, going to the next level, I've got to find myself early. I got to get ready mentally early because I know early on, some games I wasn't taking the completions coach was calling. Sometimes I was trying to make too much happen. So that just comes from a mindset of do or die mentality, to where you're going to succeed and not succeed. And sometimes I got caught up playing hero ball, but I understand where I messed up and now I'm going to fix it at the next level.
(What's it been like just being able to kind of adjust and what's something that necessarily doesn't say you don't necessarily see film or knowing?)
SS: I'd say being a leader, that's my best trait overall, because everything's mental. So if I play my game from the neck up, I got to be able to adjust to my players, to have them have related ability for them to get to know me, for us to make everything smooth. So I came from an HBCU, then I went Power 5, those two types of different players and it's very diverse and getting to know people, talk to people and making everything genuine. So the path and everything I had, even with dad being a coach, it's still been a challenge. It's still been everything because he's my dad, so you can never want to come off a certain way to people. So that's why, when I'm here interacting with people, I love interacting with people so they could truly get to know me and not just know the clips or anything like that.
(You changed the culture at Jackson State. Changed the culture at Colorado. Winning everywhere. What can an NFL franchise and fan base expect out of Shedeur Sanders when he comes in and changes the culture and the path of their team)
SS: That's the plan. If that's not what you're trying to do, don't get me. If you ain't trying to change the franchise or the culture, don't get me. So you should know, history repeats itself over and over and over and I've done it over and over and over. So it should be no question why an NFL franchise should be.
(Are you the top QB?)
Of course. Now the thing is I respect a lot of quarterbacks here. They put a lot of hard work in to get to this point. So it's kudos to them. It's truly respect. But I know what I bring to the table.
(What was is like getting to know Malik Nabers during your time in New York for the Heisman?)
SS: It was truly just getting to know him, because like I said, we have relatability because the media painted him a certain way when he said that. So I went through scrutiny also. So I told him, 'Bro, certain things you can and you can't say because they want to paint a certain type of picture of you and don't let that happen. So since then, he been good, he been smiling, he been fun. Even when he's frustrated, and I just said, just take it day by day. But I was able to understand him.
(You not having an agent, are you interacting with directly with teams?)
SS: Oh no, you know it. If you want to get in contact with me, it's easy. It's extremely easy, and everybody, my dad's been in this space for a long time, so he ain't hard to find.
(Went through a lot of coaches and OCs, why were you able to succeed)
SS: Because I'm able to adapt to all different type of personalities. But the truly thing that I know is I know what I want and I know it's going to make me succeed. So that's these conversations with the coaches, with the GMs and understanding, look, this is how I'm going to get on track. I tried everybody's way, I tried every different style, every different way, so I know what works for me and what makes me play my best. If you look good, you feel good ...
(Interrupts question) I like the tennis chain, too.
(What is one item or article of clothing you think you can be without?)
SS: My jewelry. Yeah. I can't live without the jewelry. Dad had Deion Jr. wearing jewelry when he was three years old. So it runs in the family.
(Do you have a dream designer or brand you want to be a creative director for?)
SS: No, I'm focused on football. I ain't thinking about creative director. We got Legendary. That's the creative direction.
( A question —approximately— about the music he puts out and where it comes from.)
SS: See, I'm happy you asked that question. You got to understand, when you get the work done, and that's where you drop the YouTube video 'Day in the Life.' We work out, we eat, we watch film. After that, you got all these hours to yourself. So why would somebody criticize you for being at home and being able to express yourself the way you want to express yourself, rather than you could be out being wild doing all this type of stuff, driving as fast as you can on the road doing anything wild. So it's like if anything, I feel like some GMs, they appreciate that, that you're in a controlled environment able to just express yourself into. So I make it truly for fun. I don't make it to release. I got an app that I send all my friends, they probably got 20 songs on there. But it's just, just to decompress. That's all it is.
(Importance of keeping mentally balanced)
No, it is extremely important to keep your mental in you best place, because that's where my game is played. My game's not played for my legs, and not even just my arm. So in the longevity, the all-time greats. What's Tom Brady best trait? His mental, he's able to think. So if you have those traits of greatness, and I know where I'm heading, then why wouldn't the franchise pick me? You got the ultimate cheat code.
(What your favorite passing concept: Third and eight, high red zone, got to have it against cover-3 match?)
SS: What team you represent?
(I'm just here asking football questions. Is football allowed?)
SS: Nah, because then I don't want when it's third and eight and it's crunch time, so people know my favorite concept.
(You spent a lot of time with Cam Ward getting ready for the draft. What have you learned about him and what is an NFL team going to get in him?)
SS: I'm here to speak on myself.
(Offense and fit mean little bit more for you than going No. 1, but do you feel like you might be able to have both in Tennessee?)
SS: The number of where you go don't matter. Like I say this, I referenced Tom Brady, because he was the best of the best in all categories. He didn't go first. So the number, again, picked don't matter. I wasn't the top rated quarterback coming out of high school because it's a lot of exterior things that people like and they don't like about me. I'm realistic and I'm realistic about my family and everything that people say it comes with.
(You're very confident. Am I right till soon that you do not back that off when you met with teams here. Is that fair assumption?)
SS: Yeah, it's easy meeting with people because I'm going to just be myself. So it's like you either like it or you don't.
(Why could you be the quarterback to turn things around for Cleveland Browns?)
SS: Because I've done at two locations already, so it's simple. So that's why, when people say I'm not one of the top quarterbacks or the top quarterback, it's what are y'all going based off of? Because I did it year, year after year after year, and you see the progression. So obviously, it's got to be some type of external hate that you hae for the family, for the last name, for anything. Because I know I proved myself on the field.
(What are your thoughts on the impact the University of Colorado had on you to get to this point?)
SS: I was extremely grateful for the fans, for everybody that poured into Colorado and Jackson State. None of this stuff would happen without Jackson State. So that's first and foremost because it's stepping stone. So from there then we was able to go to Colorado and learn all those life lessons that I learned there. So I'm extremely grateful for both universities to get me to this point.
(You spent a lot of time at Colorado. What's your favorite moment?)
My favorite moment at Colorado, I would say when we was able to let Miss Peggy go to a bowl game. Definitely. Thank you. Thank you. Legendary.
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