NFL Draft Analyst Questions if Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders Is Elite

Unlike last year when the draft class seemed loaded with first-round talent at the quarterback position, such has not been the case this year, where really only three players–Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, and Miami’s Cam Ward–are being mentioned as potential first-round draft picks. 

That’s not good news for the New York Giants, who, if they have their eye on any of those three, probably need to be high up in the draft in order to have a chance of getting their guy over, say, a competitor also in need of a quarterback.

Of those three quarterbacks, one who has been drawing much criticism has been Sanders, the son of NFL Hall of Famer (and Colorado head coach) Deion Sanders. Dane Brugler of The Athletic is the latest college draft scout analyst to weigh in with the opinion that Sanders is as good as being advertised.  

“I don’t have the conviction that this is a guy you can plug in and all of a sudden, he is going to lead my team to wins,” Brugler told Nate Tice of Yahoo! Sports for the Football 301 podcast.

“I am not impressed by the physical traits. He is 6-1, 210 as best. His arm is B-level. I think in terms of quarterback style, he reminds me of Jordan Love without the high-end physical traits–they backpedal and throw off their back foot.”

The comparison to Love isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and Brugler conceded that Sanders isn’t a bad quarterback, adding that the young man is a phenomenal athlete. Brugler’s hesitation comes with the question of whether Sanders is a plug-and-play signal caller who can win immediately.

“There’s a quarterbacking style that he has that Jordan Love can get away with, but I don’t think Shedeur can get away with it at the next level,” Brugler said. 

“I want to see him go up against a defense that I respect. The two best defenses that he went up against were Kansas State and Nebraska, both losses, and both games where I thought that Shedeur did not handle himself the best.”

Brugler added that Sanders takes too many sacks, noting that some of the sacks are on the quarterback and not the offensive line and adding that Sanders has to have a better pocket presence and awareness.

To Brugler’s point, Pro Football Focus has Sanders as being responsible for 29.6% of the pressures directly tied into the quarterback as opposed to the offensive line. That is the third most among college quarterbacks who have taken at least 20% of 144 dropbacks and second-most among quarterbacks projected to be in the 2025 draft class, behind Houston’s Donovan Smith (30.0%).

“He’s not a bad athlete; he’s a good athlete. He takes too many sacks, and a lot of these sacks are placed on the quarterback. The offensive line will be brought up a lot during the draft process,” Brugler said. 

“It’s only going to get tougher against NFL speed. I think Shedeur is a good quarterback, but I have plenty of concerns about how it’s going to work at the next level.”

One thing Brugler did say which was a positive toward Sanders is he is a tremendous athlete and a good player. Sanders boasts an impressive 72.4% completion rate and has 27 touchdowns, second most among the projected 2025 draft class (behind Miami’s Cam Ward).

“Any conversation about Shedeur is not, ‘Is he good enough?’ He’s clearly a good player,” Brugler said. “His poise, his accuracy, and his toughness. Those are all things you can point to and say, yeah, they will work in the NFL.”

Brugler concluded by saying while Sanders is a great athlete, he is not comparable to his father when it comes to athletic ability.

“Shedeur grew up watching his dad, this elite athlete, do these different things,” Brugler said. “Shedeur thinks he has some of that in him and it’s not even close,” Brugler said, declining to mention that father and son played different positions.

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