Just a couple of months ago, Shedeur Sanders seemed like a lock to be the first pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. He threw for over 4,100 yards and 37 TDs, leading the Colorado Buffaloes from a 4-8 campaign in 2023 to a 9-4 season and a Bowl game appearance in 2024. He won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation’s top upperclassman QB and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
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However, a two-interception performance in a blowout loss to BYU in the Alamo Bowl may have hurt his stock. There are also some reservations about his arm talent and his ability to remain poised in the pocket under pressure. His tendency to drop back further in the pocket when facing pressure rather than stepping up is another concern, as it contributed to many of the 41 sacks he took in 2024.
There are still a few voices pumping Shedeur Sanders up, however. One of those is FS1 commentator and former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Joel Klatt. Despite most draft experts ranking Miami’s Cam Ward ahead of Sanders, Klatt still has his fellow Buffaloes alum at the top of the pile.
“[Shedeur] is equal parts surgeon and artist… When he needs to be, he can be a surgeon and he can sit in the pocket and just dice people up, and he anticipates as well as anybody in this draft, he’s hyper-accurate,” said the analyst.
“So he’s got that ability to just be the prototypical pocket guy, dicing you up down the field, intermediate zones, driving the football, throwing with touch,” Klatt continued.
One might say that Shedeur Sanders was the most surgical passer in NCAA history: his 71.8 career completion percentage is a college record. His 74.0 completion percentage during the 2024 campaign also led the nation, so his accuracy credentials are certainly beyond reproach.
It’s the yin and yang of Sanders that makes him such an attractive prospect for Klatt. While Sanders can be cold and calculated in delivering accurate passes from the pocket, he can also scramble, keep plays alive, and be creative after the initial play breaks down too. That’s a very important talent to have at the next level.
“So he’s got that surgeon capability that you would wanna see. But he also has something more. And this is why he’s my No. 1 player. He’s got this ability to be an artist. Shedeur does an amazing job of creating when things aren’t there, which he had to do quite a bit, by the way.”
Klatt did acknowledge that Sanders’ ability to create when things break down is also something of a gift and a curse. While he can create art, his self-confidence also leads to him holding the ball too long, which has resulted in some nutty sack numbers for him over the last two years.
That, plus his perceived lack of arm strength, are the main drawbacks. He’s got a lot more positives, as we’ve mentioned here. Another is his experience in turning around a terrible program. The year before he and his father, Coach Prime, got to Boulder, they were a one-win team.
In two years, they completely turned the program around, thanks in large part to Shedeur’s growth as a passer. He will be asked to do that again for the team that drafts him in April. That experience at Colorado will serve him well, no matter which NFL dumpster fire he ends up in. His comfort in the spotlight and in pressure situations also boosts his draft stock.
