With the 2025 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, the gap between Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward seems to be closing at an even faster rate. With several of the top teams in this year’s draft once again in need of a quarterback, deciding which one of them will be the first signal-caller to have their name taken off of the board could be a matter of preference.
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On the latest episode of NFL Live, Sam Acho joined the panel discussion to announce that he was ready to declare Sanders as the QB1 for this year’s draft class.
Believing the former Buffalo possesses a more robust game than his counterpart Ward, Acho believes that the skill set of Sanders will have an easier time transitioning to the league.
“Cam Ward’s style of play is kind of all over the place… You can’t just run around like you did in college… Shedeur Sanders, I feel like he is more of a cerebral quarterback. He’s not the most athletic, not even close, but one thing that I think he does better than most is his ability to anticipate throws.”
Acho likened Ward’s college-level play to that of Caleb Williams and predicted that he could face similar struggles upon playing in the NFL, noting that the “backyard football approach” would not work on account of the fact that “It’s not the same in the pros.”
Ward managed to lead the FBS with 39 passing touchdowns while finishing with 4,313 passing yards, good for second overall. However, Sanders was on heels for most of the season, finishing with 37 passing touchdowns himself.
The 74% completion percentage of Sanders was the best in the game this past season, and his career completion percentage of 71.8% holds the all-time FBS record.
The two prospects perfectly encapsulate the dichotomy between pocket passers and dual-threat quarterbacks. To Acho’s credit, the pocket passing style does tend to last long in the NFL.
Co-analysts defend Ward
While admitting that Sanders is the “more polished quarterback” who will “step in and be a better fit,” co-analyst Bill Barnwell suggested that the style of Ward could signify the next step in the natural progression of the quarterback position.
In fact, Barnwell mentioned some of the best names in the league when assessing the potential of Ward’s frame and capabilities.
“Patrick Mahomes, a guy who you could have made the same criticisms of during his time in school. Refined that stuff with Andy Reid and turned into a superhero. Josh Allen at Wyoming, same thing.”
Believing that there is an “ability out of structure that is going to really tantalize teams and maybe create the potential for more upside,” Barnwell wasn’t ready to fully get on board with the idea of Sanders being the clear favorite of the class.
Nevertheless, the debate between these two signal callers will continue to unfold in the coming months as the football world eagerly awaits the 2025 NFL Draft.
