New York Jets Scouts Check Out Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes Opener

The New York Jets helped make the press box at Colorado’s Folsom Field one that was crowded with NFL scouts and personnel.

Apr 27, 2024; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) prepares to pass during a spring game event at Folsom Field. / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Buffaloes are coming off a 4-8 season, but with “Coach Prime,” or former NFL legend Deion Sanders leading the program, attention follows no matter what.

And, with the NFL on a bit of a hiatus before opening night next Thursday — and with the New York Jets off until Monday Night Football — that gave the league’s scouts their choices of which games to attend.

Thursday night was the first official day of college football’s week one of the season. One of the marquee games was Colorado hosting North Dakota State, the latter one of the powers of FCS football and winners of 17 national championships at multiple levels of the game.

And the scouts showed up, including the Jets. Colorado was all too happy to let everyone know on social media that they had credentials 29 team executives and scouts from 18 different teams for the game.

Boulder is the place to be. Recruits get in wit me pic.twitter.com/F0xBaEEbyE

— Devin Rispress (@Coach2Bless) August 29, 2024

Yes, representatives from more than half of the NFL showed up.

Naturally, two players drew the most attention.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of the head coach, was under center for the Buffaloes and is considered by most to be a first-round pick. Given the Jets have a 40-year-old starter in Aaron Rodgers, New York could be in the market for a starting quarterback in the next draft.

Well, the Jets are hoping to put their back-to-back 7-11 seasons in the past and sites like ESPN have Sanders going high in the draft. A recent mock at ESPN had Sanders going No. 4 overall.

So, if New York has designs on him, well, it would have to be a bad season for the Jets.

The other player was two-way star Travis Hunter, who can play wide receiver and cornerback. He’s been named an All-American and spurned Florida State to join the elder Sanders at Jackson State coming out of high school. He followed him to Colorado.

Hunter can play either position at a high level. It’s not clear to anyone where he best fits in next April’s draft. But it’s pretty clear he won’t slip to a playoff team. That same mock draft had him going No. 11 overall. Again, New York would have to have a bad season to get that pick.

The Buffaloes have several other quality individual players that the Jets, and other teams, were likely scouting. And one shouldn’t discount the talent the Bison brought to the game, either. NDSU has sent starting-caliber talent to the NFL nearly every season for the past 15 years.

The Jets will have scouts fanned throughout the country this weekend checking up on dozens of players as part of their player evaluation cycle for next year’s draft. New York is hoping that if they are able to get Sanders or Hunter it’s because they’re trading up after a playoff season and not finishing with another under-.500 record.