I think that Sheduer could be a really good QB, and he might be the QB with the best opportunity in this class, but Deion definitely needs to step back. Not every time can you control your son like he is. Sheduer is not Deion.
I watched Sanders for the last two years and I did not come away thinking lottery pick like apparently so many TV personalities and writers are. He is a pretty accurate passer when he is given time, has a decent arm, average size, and surprisingly below average athleticism to be Deion's son. He can also move some merch and gain a following online, so he definitely has marketability.
That said, I believe his offensive line (which wasn't good) took a lot of added blame for Sanders running himself into as many sacks as they gave up. He often held the ball far too long when receivers weren't open, waited too late to move in the pocket after it had collapsed, or didn't just throw balls away when no one was open. You saw it big time in the bowl game vs BYU (that game won't make many highlight reels). These poor pocket decisions to hold the ball or trust his legs when he shouldn't show a lack of field awareness and led to many unnecessary sacks. In the NFL it won't get any easier, it will get much faster and much more complicated.
He is not a great, or really even a good, athlete. Sanders is certainly not fleet footed, not explosive or quick, not very strong physically, and all that is why he won't be working out or running a 40. I'd put him around a 4.8 tops based on the repeated clips of him being chased down from behind by linebackers and linemen when scrambling. He is no run threat which means he better be an AMAZING pocket passer. See prior and following paragraph for concerns here.
His accuracy is pretty good, but many of the throws he completed in college were due to a huge talent difference between receivers like Hunter, Horn, and Shepherd and other corners. He wasn't exactly facing SEC or even Big 10 defenses at CU. It was a second tier defensive league like the Big 12. All that to say he often had large windows to complete throws against lower skilled, smaller, corners he will certainly not see in the NFL. I think many of the throws he was used to completing in college will be late, defended, or even picked in the NFL.
I do think he can play some QB in the NFL and may mature with 2-3 years experience in the right system that uses his skills. He has some natural arm talent, but he's not by any means a first round NFL arm or talent in my opinion. As far as being a top pick franchise QB a team builds around for a decade- I have NEVER seen any evidence whatsoever of that type of player. I'll honestly be surprised if a team actually gambles that and takes Sanders early when the chips are down on draft day. Too much is on the line to be silly with QB picks, especially first round picks. Your job is on the line as a GM with that pick, so no hype should weigh in on the decision. It should be brutal honesty only. There's certainly a LOT of hype, a PR machine, social media, a famous dad who can really make things difficult, and a lot of media promotion behind Sanders. That adds pressure to teams to feel they have to pick him early, but I will wait and see. I think the stage is slowly being set over the past week, especially after all the Cam Ward praise at workouts, for teams to all come to an honest, collective, agreement that he's actually a 2nd to 3rd round pick at best who will likely backup to start his career.
Thanks for reading, John. It is interesting reading your opinions. A couple of things. 1. Comparing Shedeur, or anybody, to Deion regarding athleticism and foot speed is hardly a viable way to define that trait. I believe Shedeur's athleticism for a pocket passer is well above average. He is not an RPO threat. 2. It is incredibly dismissive to say his accuracy is "pretty good" when he threw 477 passes last year, fifth most in the nation, and completed 74 percent, No. 1 in the nation for anybody who threw an appreciable amount of passes. As for comparing passes in college to passes in the NFL.....you can say that abut ANY quarterback. Enjoy the runup to the draft
I believe a lot of the noise is much ado about nothing. And more about QB-needy teams wishing Sanders would fall to them or close enough for an #NFLDraft trade-up.
The tape doesn't lie. Sheddeur has consistently focused on making plays from the pocket - eyes always downfield rather than taking off to run at the sign of first trouble. Adjusting to that at NFL speed usually the biggest learning curve for a rookie QB.
At that Combine presser, Sanders emphasize how he identified that he was often looking for the big play which led to unnecessary sacks. And how he evolved as a QB and leader by learning to take the checkdown - to not only avoid sacks, but also put his team in a good position early in games. Honest self-reflection that isn't exactly what a supposed egomaniac would admit, right?
As for the leadership, to a man, his WRs are loyal - desiring to play on the same NFL team so that their connection doesn't end. With 4-5 top NCAA WRs, it is remarkable that everyone believed that he “ate” enough.
Just seems like a different vibe compared to what's being presented in the pre-Draft noise. I also say that even as someone who observed a preseason public scrimmage - and how the QB interacted with teammates mostly out of the spotlight.
I believe Sanders’ future is bright. Like with other top QB prospects, past and present, time will tell. But he has the intangibles for greatness.
Honestly don’t recall Archie not being involved in the Eli/No Chargers yay Giants stuff. Elway before that seemed to be more w/o dad, but I honestly think he was heavily involved too.
Not sure if what Deion is doing for his son is right or not. Just going to say it is VERY hard being in that position and having all the hats on. Has to be exponentially worse given Deion’s stature.
Only get one chance to be a dad for the kid. Make sure to make the most of it.
I think that Sheduer could be a really good QB, and he might be the QB with the best opportunity in this class, but Deion definitely needs to step back. Not every time can you control your son like he is. Sheduer is not Deion.
Loved the article!
I watched Sanders for the last two years and I did not come away thinking lottery pick like apparently so many TV personalities and writers are. He is a pretty accurate passer when he is given time, has a decent arm, average size, and surprisingly below average athleticism to be Deion's son. He can also move some merch and gain a following online, so he definitely has marketability.
That said, I believe his offensive line (which wasn't good) took a lot of added blame for Sanders running himself into as many sacks as they gave up. He often held the ball far too long when receivers weren't open, waited too late to move in the pocket after it had collapsed, or didn't just throw balls away when no one was open. You saw it big time in the bowl game vs BYU (that game won't make many highlight reels). These poor pocket decisions to hold the ball or trust his legs when he shouldn't show a lack of field awareness and led to many unnecessary sacks. In the NFL it won't get any easier, it will get much faster and much more complicated.
He is not a great, or really even a good, athlete. Sanders is certainly not fleet footed, not explosive or quick, not very strong physically, and all that is why he won't be working out or running a 40. I'd put him around a 4.8 tops based on the repeated clips of him being chased down from behind by linebackers and linemen when scrambling. He is no run threat which means he better be an AMAZING pocket passer. See prior and following paragraph for concerns here.
His accuracy is pretty good, but many of the throws he completed in college were due to a huge talent difference between receivers like Hunter, Horn, and Shepherd and other corners. He wasn't exactly facing SEC or even Big 10 defenses at CU. It was a second tier defensive league like the Big 12. All that to say he often had large windows to complete throws against lower skilled, smaller, corners he will certainly not see in the NFL. I think many of the throws he was used to completing in college will be late, defended, or even picked in the NFL.
I do think he can play some QB in the NFL and may mature with 2-3 years experience in the right system that uses his skills. He has some natural arm talent, but he's not by any means a first round NFL arm or talent in my opinion. As far as being a top pick franchise QB a team builds around for a decade- I have NEVER seen any evidence whatsoever of that type of player. I'll honestly be surprised if a team actually gambles that and takes Sanders early when the chips are down on draft day. Too much is on the line to be silly with QB picks, especially first round picks. Your job is on the line as a GM with that pick, so no hype should weigh in on the decision. It should be brutal honesty only. There's certainly a LOT of hype, a PR machine, social media, a famous dad who can really make things difficult, and a lot of media promotion behind Sanders. That adds pressure to teams to feel they have to pick him early, but I will wait and see. I think the stage is slowly being set over the past week, especially after all the Cam Ward praise at workouts, for teams to all come to an honest, collective, agreement that he's actually a 2nd to 3rd round pick at best who will likely backup to start his career.
Thanks for reading, John. It is interesting reading your opinions. A couple of things. 1. Comparing Shedeur, or anybody, to Deion regarding athleticism and foot speed is hardly a viable way to define that trait. I believe Shedeur's athleticism for a pocket passer is well above average. He is not an RPO threat. 2. It is incredibly dismissive to say his accuracy is "pretty good" when he threw 477 passes last year, fifth most in the nation, and completed 74 percent, No. 1 in the nation for anybody who threw an appreciable amount of passes. As for comparing passes in college to passes in the NFL.....you can say that abut ANY quarterback. Enjoy the runup to the draft
I believe a lot of the noise is much ado about nothing. And more about QB-needy teams wishing Sanders would fall to them or close enough for an #NFLDraft trade-up.
The tape doesn't lie. Sheddeur has consistently focused on making plays from the pocket - eyes always downfield rather than taking off to run at the sign of first trouble. Adjusting to that at NFL speed usually the biggest learning curve for a rookie QB.
At that Combine presser, Sanders emphasize how he identified that he was often looking for the big play which led to unnecessary sacks. And how he evolved as a QB and leader by learning to take the checkdown - to not only avoid sacks, but also put his team in a good position early in games. Honest self-reflection that isn't exactly what a supposed egomaniac would admit, right?
As for the leadership, to a man, his WRs are loyal - desiring to play on the same NFL team so that their connection doesn't end. With 4-5 top NCAA WRs, it is remarkable that everyone believed that he “ate” enough.
Just seems like a different vibe compared to what's being presented in the pre-Draft noise. I also say that even as someone who observed a preseason public scrimmage - and how the QB interacted with teammates mostly out of the spotlight.
I believe Sanders’ future is bright. Like with other top QB prospects, past and present, time will tell. But he has the intangibles for greatness.
Honestly don’t recall Archie not being involved in the Eli/No Chargers yay Giants stuff. Elway before that seemed to be more w/o dad, but I honestly think he was heavily involved too.
Not sure if what Deion is doing for his son is right or not. Just going to say it is VERY hard being in that position and having all the hats on. Has to be exponentially worse given Deion’s stature.
Only get one chance to be a dad for the kid. Make sure to make the most of it.