New York Giants Draft Prospect: QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

Depending on who you believe, Shedeur Sanders is either a top-five pick or someone whose draft stock is tumbling.

Nick Falato | 18 Hours Ago

Dec 28, 2024; San Antonio, TX, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) warms up before the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Alamodome. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been heavily linked to the New York Giants. But is his skill set truly the best fit for the Giants offense?

MORE: They Might Be Giants: 2025 Draft Prospect Scouting Reports

Shedeur Sanders, QB

Height: 6’1 ½”
Weight: 212 lbs
Class: Senior
School: Colorado
Hand size: 9 ⅜”
Arm length: 31 ½”
STATS

The son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who was also his college coach, Sanders was a three-star recruit out of Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, where he was the 75th-ranked player from his state and the 37th QB in the 2021 recruiting cycle.

Sanders initially attended Jackson State for two seasons before following his father to Colorado in 2023, where he also played two seasons.

He was a four-star recruit in the transfer portal. At the start of the 2023 season, he was the fourth quarterback and the 29th overall player in the portal.

Sanders immediately made an impact as a freshman at Jackson State. He won the SWAC Freshman of the Year and the Jerry Rice Award as the most outstanding freshman in the FCS; he became the first player from a HBCU to be honored with the award.

He was also honored with the Deacon Jones Trophy in 2022 and earned SWAC Offensive Player of the Year before leaving the conference.

Sanders won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2024, along with the Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and was First-Team All-Big-12.

Sanders had a solid 4.5% Big Time Throw Rate through his four college seasons, with a low 1.7% Turnover Worthy Play Rate.

He averaged 7.8 yards per attempt, which was 8.6 yards in 2024. His aDOT (average depth of target) was 8.5 yards. He graded as the third-best passer in 2024, per Pro Football Focus. Only Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) and Cam Ward (Miami) were graded higher than Sanders.

Sanders tied for the most sacks in the entire FBS; his offensive line was not an asset.

PFF had Sanders with the third-highest accuracy rate and the fifth-lowest rate of uncatchable throws in the entire FBS. He also had the third-best grade of all draft-eligible quarterbacks from a clean pocket. He’s a polarizing player, but one who does have talent.

Strengths

Good posture in the pocket – maximizes measurables
Very good footwork on dropback
Sturdy and good balance in the pocket – solid overall composure
Does well to maneuver and navigate within the pocket
Keeps eyes downfield when pocket gets muddy
Smoothly gets his body oriented in quick game
Displayed excellent patience to wait for second/third window throws
Good fluid OVER THE TOP throwing motion – effortless
Smart quarterback with sound comprehension on how to attack defenses
Intelligent pre-to-post snap work
Plays well within play structure
Plus asset in a short – rhythmic – passing attack
Creative mind to improvise (lack of athletic ability and arm talent hold him back from maximizing this skill-set)
Displayed good anticipation over the middle of the field (seam, DIG)
Good overall touch and pacing over the MOF
Understands how to throw between the numbers (timing, placement, touch, etc.)
Hits the upfield shoulder of WRs on seam and skinny posts over the MOF
Excellent timing on his passes
Solid overall accuracy
Distributes the football well in the short-intermediate parts of the field
Ran an NFL styled offense (Pat Shurmur)
Very used to playing under pressure – stands tall in the pocket
Takes massive hits and gets right back up
Elite toughness

Weaknesses

Slightly undersized
Below-average athlete: speed, acceleration, and explosiveness
Struggled to escape sacks in college (athletic & OL issues)
OL was poor but developed a tendency to bail cleaner pockets
Can drift in the pocket too often
Devastating losses trying to escape sacks
Tendency to burp the baby before releasing the football
Passes lack velocity
Ball tends to float – lack of zip
Below-average arm strength
Deep passes tend to die in the air
Accuracy wasn’t always pin-point – especially on short passes outside the numbers
Lackluster off-platform thrower
Had tendency to skip or low-ball short passes to his right or left
Ran NFL concepts but mainly operated out of the shotgun

Nov 23, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) passes the ball during the 2nd quarter between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Colorado Buffaloes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

Summary

Shedeur Sanders is a high-processing distributor who operates a quick rhythmic passing attack well. He also possesses a creative knack that he fails to fully realize due to suboptimal athletic ability and arm strength when off platform.

Still, Sanders is mechanically sound and flashes WOW throws at each level of the field, albeit not always consistently. Sanders lacks elite physical gifts, but his overall arm talent is solid, especially over the middle of the field. A lack of elite zip and velocity is evident on his tape.

Sanders struggled to escape sacks at the collegiate level; that issue will be gravely exacerbated in the NFL. Yes, his offensive line was VERY POOR, but evading sacks against Big-12 defenders is much easier than NFL defenders, and Sanders tied for most sacks in the entire FBS. He’s not a terrible athlete, but his athletic ability is not an asset to his game.

However, Sanders's ability to navigate through muddy pockets, stand tall, and deliver strikes before getting hit is very impressive and a testament to his overall toughness, which is elite. Sanders does well targeting in-between the numbers with anticipation and ball placement.

He does well in understanding the defense pre-to-post snap while operating through NFL concepts in Pat Shurumr’s offense. He’s a quality decision-maker who can keep an offense on script and can improvise.

There are many reasons to appreciate Shedeur Sanders’ skills. Yet he lacks the tantalizing physical gifts many current high-level NFL quarterbacks possess.

He can successfully operate an efficient passing attack predicated on processing and timing. He won’t thrive in every system, but an offense with a stable line that allows him to be the point guard while efficiently attacking defenses can find success with a player like Shedeur Sanders.

GRADE: 6.29