It’s no secret that the biggest weakness in Shedeur Sanders’ game is his poor physicality. He’s known as more of a pocket passer with an ability to throw accurately to all three levels of the field. Still, it’s strange that a son of Deion Sanders isn’t known for his athletic prowess. This is why Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter didn’t mince his words when talking about Shedeur’s physical ability.
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Carter is very excited to watch Shedeur at the NFL level. In fact, he believes even if he doesn’t pan out, he’s such a good person and will eventually find a job related to the game. Beyond the field, Carter has been impressed with Shedeur’s personality and how he carries himself. But it doesn’t mean he won’t be honest about his game when asked about it.
Kay Adams asked Carter to “size up” Shedeur next to Cam Ward, as there’s been a debate in recent weeks about which QB is the best of the two.
“Shedeur is more of a pocket quarterback. Even though he’s Deion’s son, he’s not a great athlete. He’s a decent athlete but not a great one. But his ability to be able to throw the ball to all three levels. His timing, understanding the offenses, you know I believe those reasons put him the reason why they’re so close in ability,” Carter told Adams.
Shedeur is indeed known more as an average athlete than Ward. He isn’t ever going to provide high rushing volume and relies more on his arm to move the ball downfield. Shedeur’s arm strength is also average in favor of accuracy. He’s tailored to a style of play that was more popular 10-15 years ago. Of course, pocket passers still exist and always will. But the game is starting to gear more toward dual-threat quarterbacks like Ward. Think of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts.
Carter went on to expand on his analysis of Shedeur and Ward. He talked about how both are different types of QBs that can help teams in different ways.
“I believe Shedeur probably is a little bit ahead in the passing game timing aspect, and Ward is a little bit of a better athlete and can provide a little more plays on the edge because of his overall athleticism.”
Shedeur also got high praise from Carter for his personality. He said that he met the driver who had been driving around Shedeur and his family during the lead-up to the College Football National Championship. The driver had nothing but good things to say about Shedeur and the way he carried himself, held his brother to a standard, and talked to people. Carter thinks that things like that matter and that teams will love Shedeur’s personality.
Carter on Ward
Furthermore, Carter is infatuated with Ward. But he also thinks the rest of the nation is too, and wants everyone to err on the side of caution. He points out that we were excited about another QB prospect last year who could extend plays outside the pocket. But over time, that strength in college became a weakness in the NFL. So, he thinks Ward will have a natural learning curve.
“He’s a phenomenal talent,” Carter said about Ward. “I like the way his arm pops. I also love the way that he can extend the play. But I do think there’s going to be a learning curve. He’s got a lot of the same abilities as Caleb Williams that we praised in college… That prolonged holding of the football, which we saw in Chicago this year was not an asset. But analyzing him it was a tremendous asset.”
It’s an interesting comparison that maybe some have overlooked up to this point. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype and the potential impact of quarterback prospects, but sometimes we forget to think about how it will actually play out. For Williams, it was a bit of an underwhelming first campaign that started as generational hype. The same sort of discourse is starting to surround Ward. We’ll see if he can live up to it or if he stumbles out of the gate.
