Not too long ago, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was among the betting favorites to go with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
He could still very well climb back into the conversation between now and April, but for now, his draft stock is starting to fall.
Just by looking at his stats from 2024, Sanders is a bonafide stud—completing 74% of his passing attempts for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns.
However, NFL teams with early first-round draft capital are looking for an athlete who will set themselves apart from other players at their position. That appears to be the reason why Sanders’ is seeing his stock dip as we head into March.
NFL insider Albert Breer recently appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd and discussed what he’s hearing about the Colorado star quarterback.
“I think the issue with Shedeur – and this is going to be a difficult thing for him to address over the next six or seven weeks – is, are you special in any one area? Do you have a superpower trait?” Breer said. “Or, are you an average athlete with an average arm, in an NFL context? And I think that that’s the way a lot of teams look at him. He’s not a great athlete. He doesn’t have a big arm. So, where is the superpower that’s going to make you want to take him in the Top 5? I think you attach that, then, to what the teams in the AFC are looking up at, and that’s sort of this Mount Olympus of quarterbacks.”
Not only are franchises looking for the thing that makes Sanders special, but they’re also comparing him to some of the most gifted athletes in the world. Having a high floor and above average ceiling isn’t enough when you’re being compared to guys like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
“So if you’re Tennessee picking first or Cleveland picking second, I’ll borrow a term that Daniel Jeremiah used with me a few days ago: It’s almost like you have to chase ceiling,” Breer continued. “It’s not, ‘Can this guy be a good player?’ It’s, ‘Can this guy be good enough to compete with Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow in the AFC?’ And oh, by the way, when you get by those guys, you’ve still got more guys with a lot of upside in C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, and Drake Maye. It’s a gauntlet. If you draft Shedeur Sanders in the Top 5 or Top 10 picks, could he get up and running pretty fast? I think he probably could. Five years from now, are you going to be comfortable giving him $55, $60, $65 million a year? I think that’s the question.”
It’s a tough analysis, but that’s the nature of the beast when players make that jump to the NFL. Sanders has had success at every level of football in his career, but this next step will be his toughest. Right now, it appears he might have trouble standing out, but perhaps all he needs is an opportunity to prove everyone wrong.
