REPORT: Pre-Combine Scouting Report on Raiders Target Shedeur Sanders

The Las Vegas Raiders are in the market for a quarterback. Shedeur Sanders is widely regarded to be their favorite prospect--will that change?

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. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders will not participate in any quarterback drills at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He will instead be meeting with teams and interviewing with hopes it will answer some questions about his character.

Nonetheless, scouting reports are already flowing from the keyboards of draftniks and analysts. Pro Football Focus' Nick Akridge evaluated Sanders and reviewed his strengths and weaknesses.

"Sanders’ biggest strength is his accuracy," wrote Akridge. "From ball placement to catchability, he is among the best. PFF charts the ball placement on every throw made by college quarterbacks, and Sanders finished 2024 with the third-highest accuracy rate and the fifth-lowest rate of uncatchable throws in the FBS. He shows a great understanding of defenders’ leverage and knows how to place the ball in tight coverage. Sanders also displays fantastic touch on deep throws. His 94.8 PFF passing grade on deep attempts (20-plus yards) ranks fourth in this year’s draft class."

Another key strength that Akridge liked was Sanders' ability to avoid turnovers.

"Sanders handled the most dropbacks under pressure in the FBS — nearly 20 more than the second most," he wrote. "He was under constant pressure at Colorado yet still avoided turnovers. His 1.3% turnover-worthy play percentage ranks third best among draft-eligible quarterbacks, and that figure rises to only 2.5% on plays with pressure, placing eighth in the class. Sanders does such a good job of not turning a bad play into a disaster. When quarterbacks are constantly under duress, they often panic. Not Sanders."

For weaknesses, Sanders showed some errant judgment in bailing from clean pockets.

"The biggest area of concern in Sanders’ game is his pocket presence," wrote Akridge. "There are a lot of caveats, though, because of his offensive line at Colorado. Sanders was the most pressured quarterback in the nation, and while a lot of that was on his offensive line, he had his fair share of responsibility in inviting pressure. He had the most quarterback-faulted pressures and sacks in 2024. He was forced to play under constant concern for pressure, even when it wasn’t there. It led to him bailing from clean pockets early, taking sacks and not letting plays fully develop. There are far too many plays of him looking to get out of the pocket immediately expecting pressure instead of staying in and reading out the play."

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and IG @HondoSr and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE