If Shedeur Sanders wants to be drafted as number 1, he has to act like it
On their own, the puzzle pieces reveal little. But when you put them together, a clearly defined picture emerges.
Metaphorically speaking, that describes the NFL Draft. After months, if not years, of collecting information on prospects, teams connect the dots — er, data — to get a more complete picture of who they might select.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders should understand that better than any prospect. His father, Deion Sanders, is not only his head coach, but also one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history. Coach Prime, as he likes to be called, knows the league and its inner workings better than anyone. He’s familiar with the circus that is the draft and how innocent incidents can take on a life of their own.
That’s why I’m surprised Shedeur hasn’t been more careful with the spotlight over the past year. It goes beyond throwing his offensive linemen under the bus after getting sacked five times in Saturday’s loss to Nebraska. It’s also his work ethic has been questioned by Miami quarterback Cam Ward, another potential top 5 pick, after the two trained together in South Florida during the offseason. And he made a derogatory remark about a former teammate after the player transferred. And legendary QB Tom Brady who joked (?) that he leave the car showroom and to the cinema after hanging photos in a Rolls-Royce.
“How many times was Raiola touched?”
Shedeur Sanders blames his O-Line
— UnnecRoughness (@UnnecRoughness) September 8, 2024
By themselves, these things may not mean much.
But when you pair them together, they could raise uncomfortable questions about his suitability to potentially be drafted No. 1 — which is one reason he returned for his final season. As one former general manager told me this week, “If you ask the question, teams are going to ask the question.”
At this point, just three weeks into the season, it’s too early to credibly talk about frontrunners for the top spot. And while some entered the year predicting a QB-weak 2025 draft class, history shows that relatively unknown players will be pushed higher up on draft boards toward the end of the season, leading to vigorous debate over who should go No. 1.
We’ll certainly hear names like Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Georgia’s Carson Beck and Miami’s Ward, all of whom are talented and could lead potential playoff teams. USC’s Miller Moss could also enter the conversation. No one is more physically talented than Sanders, but so far they’ve both handled the spotlight with more dexterity.
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Sanders needs to know that he will be judged differently than most. First, he is a quarterback, which is the best position in football. Second, he is a quarterback who happens to be black in a league that has only recently begun to see African-Americans as capable of excelling at that position. And third, he is a quarterback who happens to be black and the son of Deion Sanders, a man whose confidence, flash and bravado rub some the wrong way. To think that Shedeur won’t be judged more critically is naive.
That said, none of these things will prevent Sanders from being drafted heavily. But they could create openings for unnecessary and unwanted drama in the lead-up to the draft, which has a voracious appetite for nonsensical storylines. See, Cam Newton and “fake smile” for Exhibit 1A.
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In search of perspective, I reached out to a couple of former general managers and asked what impact these puzzle pieces might have on Sanders’ consideration as a No. 1 pick. Both were involved in selecting a QB from the first three picks, including one right up there, and both spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Their perspectives were polar opposites.
“All of those things are important,” one said. “We’ve seen some great quarterbacks over the years who are incredibly talented, but they just can’t make it happen. There’s many, many like him. … If I were to come back into the league now and start a new regime, I would never, from what I know, let Shedeur start things off with me. I’m trying to figure out why that is, and I just don’t trust anything I see right now. He’s got some money from the portal and he’s spending it the way he’s spending it. … I just don’t trust his maturity. I don’t trust how he can handle the spotlight, which sounds crazy because he should be able to handle it more than anyone else, because he’s been dealing with it his whole life. I don’t mean handle the spotlight; but is he going to be a distraction in that building? Is he going to annoy people? Are his teammates going to like him, or are they going to hate him?”
The other said, “During the draft, everybody’s going to pick holes. Yeah, people are going to look at those kinds of things. But I don’t see it that way. Those kinds of things are all learned, maturing traits. We forget that kids are going to be kids. What you look at is how fast they grow up. Obviously, he’s grown up in an athletic environment where he’s used to being around the best. The work ethic is going to be the biggest thing. The stuff about the comments and stuff like that, people are going to be a little concerned about that, but the work ethic is the thing. If you don’t think he’s going to have the work ethic, that’s a big red flag. You look at Jayden Daniels and he had the receivers in at 5:30 in the morning for meetings. You look at Matt Ryan and he used to take his offensive linemen out to dinner once a week. That being said, I think you have to be very careful about letting those things pile up.”
Both men called Sanders “extremely talented” and said they expect him to be among the top quarterbacks taken in the 2025 draft. He could have turned pro after last season and potentially been the first quarterback taken after Caleb Williams, who went first overall to the Chicago Bears. But he came back because he said the timing “didn’t feel right,” the season didn’t “end well” with Colorado finishing 4-8 after a 3-0 start, and because he wants to be the first quarterback off the draft board.
He’s got the talent, no doubt about it, completing 69 percent of his passes for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns with just three interceptions behind a terrible line last season. Scouts rave about his accuracy, arm talent and pocket mobility. The tangibles. But the intangibles are what clubs will dissect during the draft. They’ll want to know about his makeup and leadership qualities. So far this year, the frustration is seeping through.
He was sacked 56 times last season and has been dropped six times in two games this year. If his protection doesn’t improve in the coming weeks, how will he respond? The answer could be a key piece of his draft-day puzzle.
(Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
