Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, such as Drake Maye and Caleb Williams, the former Colorado Buffalo, Shedeur Sanders, is the latest big-name quarterback prospect to opt out of the NFL Combine. Preferring to work with familiar faces at Colorado’s pro day, the 23-year-old signal caller is now the latest example of the ever-growing “opt out generation.”
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On the latest episode of 4th & 1 with Cam Newton, the former Carolina Panther pondered as to if the NFL Combine is actually as prestigious as it once was believed to be. Reacting to Dan Patrick’s claims that the Combine is “really about medicals and team interviews,” Newton expounded that the journalist made some “very valid points” about the criticisms of Sanders’ decision.
Citing the numerous problems with the combine—in addition to his own issues that he experienced in 2011—Newton asserted that a good performance does very little to nothing for quarterbacks.
“You performing at that Combine ain’t going to make or break you getting picked, that’s the reality. So, yes, Shedeur not throwing at the combine is definite click bait. Should he throw at the combine? That’s subjective to how the f**k he feels. I threw at the Combine and I stunk up the place… It’s not a comfortable environment.”
Given that the motivations behind the rookie’s decision to forgo this year’s scouting event aligns almost perfectly with the analyst’s claims, Newton may be more correct than he realizes.
Suggesting that Sanders is only having his decision questioned due to his last name, the 2015 MVP winner explained that the risk of a bad performance at the Combine does not outweigh the rewards of a good one.
“Does it help? Ehh. I think he’s in a situation where; If Shedeur goes to the NFL Combine and he throws and it’s like “Oh my god! Boom!” it’s just [a small increase in his draft stock]. If he goes to the combine and throws like ****, now you plummet.”
To Newton’s credit, all of the aforementioned QBs who opted out of the combine each cited throwing to receivers that they know as being a major factor in choosing their pro days over the NFL event. Considering that Sanders’ is arguably the most scrutinized prospect of the entire class, it’s perhaps for the best that he performs in the environment in which he is most comfortable.
His draft stock is already in decline, as indicated by ESPN’s draft guru, Mel Kiper, who is now projecting Sanders to fall to the seventh overall pick after having previously projected him to be selected by the New York Giants with the third overall pick.
Should he hope to reverse this trend, Sanders will need to deliver a solid performance in front of scouts, regardless of where that may be. Having access to Colorado’s best weapons, while also being supported by his coaches and training staff, is undoubtedly the best approach for him at this point in time.
