Shedeur Sanders at Colorado pro day: NFL Draft scouting report, pro comp, landing spots for Deion Sanders’ son

Shedeur Sanders has been raised to play football and is the prized pro athlete among Deion Sanders’ three sons. Born during his father’s three-year retirement from the NFL, Sanders has been under the tutelage of his Pro Football Hall of Fame father since his Pop Warner days. In fact, once Sanders was starting at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, his father became the team’s offensive coordinator. Deion may have been calling plays, but it was Sanders who led the team to two Texas Division II State Championships and a 39-2 record as a three-year starter.

Sanders had tons of offers to go almost anywhere, including one from Oregon in 2017. Instead of blazing a path of his own like his brother Shilo did when he committed to South Carolina, Sanders opted to go to Jackson State alongside his father when Deion was named its head coach. Sanders led the Tigers to a 23-3 record over two seasons, earning the Jerry Rice FCS National Freshman of the Year Award and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Freshman of the Year Award in 2021, then the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Award and the Deacon Jones Trophy as the nation’s top HBCU player in 2022.

With his father landing the top gig for the Colorado Buffaloes before the 2023 season, Sanders again went with his dad to Boulder, where he started 3-0 but finished 4-8. In 2024, Sanders led the team to a 9-4 record, finishing with 4,134 yards passing and 37 touchdowns. Sanders finished his collegiate career by earning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which went to Jayden Daniels the previous year.

Below is a full draft profile for Sanders, including his scouting report, prospect ranking, pro comparison, college and high school accolades and overall NFL outlook.

Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft profile

• Age as of Week 1: 23 years old
• Height: 6-foot-1 ½
• Weight: 212 pounds
• Hand size: 9 ⅜

• Comparable body-type to: Geno Smith

CBS prospect ranking

Position: No. 2 QB | Overall: No. 24

Consensus big board ranking (via NFL Mock Draft Database): No. 4 (No. 2 QB)

To check out all of CBSSports.com’s most recent mock drafts, click here.

NFL comparison: Geno Smith

Dave Richard: It took Geno Smith a while to blossom into an accurate passer with minimal pass-rush fear and decent mobility. That’s the starting point for Sanders, who could obviously mature into a better quarterback. With proper teammates around him and an offense he has total command of, it would not be a shock to see him play like Steve Young. That’s the ceiling. 

Josh Edwards (CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst): Geno Smith always had good pocket mobility, but was known to hold onto the ball too long, which is an issue that plagues Sanders. When each is on their game, they are more than capable of dicing up opposing secondaries and have enough arm strength to push the ball downfield. Smith was a victim of circumstance early in his career, landing with a Jets team incapable of supporting him. He flourished during his time with Seattle before being traded to the Raiders this offseason.

NFL landing spots

By Garrett Podell

• Cleveland Browns (No. 2 overall pick): The Browns need a fresh face at the quarterback position in 2025. They went 3-14 in 2024 with quarterback Deshaun Watson tearing his Achilles in Week 7 and again during his rehab process, and he’s only played 19 games in three seasons since the Browns sent three first-round picks to the Texans to acquire him. Sanders may actually be excited to land with the Browns, with a video surfacing that Cleveland is the only team he uses in Madden these days.
• New York Giants (No. 3 overall pick): The Giants protected themselves from future financial guarantees kicking in on Daniel Jones‘ contract, but that leaves them without a solution to their quarterback question. New York has the No. 3 pick in the draft.
• Miami Dolphins (No. 13 overall pick): The Dolphins have some high level offensive pieces in former All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill, former first-round receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back De’Von Achane. However, they desperately need more durability and big plays from the quarterback position. Sanders could develop nicely under Mike McDaniel’s guidance from the sidelines in 2025, and then there’s a chance he could replace Tua Tagovailoa as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback in 2026 or 2027.

Shedeur Sanders scouting report

Accolades

• 2024: Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (nation’s top upperclassman QB)
• 2024: Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year
• 2024: First-team All-Big 12
• 2024: Set school records for passing touchdowns (4,134), passing yards (37) and completion percentage (74.0%)
• 2023: Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year
• 2022 (at Jackson State): SWAC Offensive Player of the Year
• 2022 (at Jackson State): Deacon Jones Trophy (best player among HBCU schools)
• 2021 (at Jackson State): Jerry Rice Award (best freshman in FCS)

Advanced stats to know

• 52.6% of Sanders’ yards came after the catch, more than all of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class. 
• 55.1% completion rate when pressured last year was second-best among the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class. Sanders’ 8.7% TD rate when pressured was the best, barely ahead of Cam Ward‘s 8.6%. However, Sanders threw five interceptions when pressured, more than all but four quarterbacks in the entire FBS. 
• In the red zone, Sanders completed 71.4% of his throws for 18 touchdowns and three interceptions. He was top six in the FBS in all three categories, good or bad. 

Strengths

• Consistent knee-bend and perfect posture to form a strong base to throw from.
• Excellent, well-practiced footwork in the pocket.
• Reliably keept his eyes downfield and coolly maneuvered the pocket when pressured, and he was pressured a lot. Sanders often would evade pass rushers and belly up to the line of scrimmage before throwing. Though he would occasionally rush when presented with wide open space, Sanders proved to be a thrower first. 
• Good awareness to keep plays alive or take care of the football. Would take advantage of defensive offsides by insta-bombing deep. Knew to take heaps of real estate with his legs when defenses didn’t cover his mobility. Lots of throwaways when pressured or eating sacks instead of forcing something risky.
• Fearless when it came to throwing when a hit was coming. The ball would almost always get out. 
• Capable NFL arm best suited for short and intermediate distribution. Threw with touch and finesse. 
• Typically threw with very good accuracy and ball placement, a huge strength to his game. Occasional off-target throws weren’t so bad that his receivers couldn’t adjust, and most of them were when he was on the run or off-platform. 
• Played with patience and was capable of anticipatory throws, especially on out routes, but was more of a spot thrower.
• Solid acceleration and speed when he used his legs. 

Concerns

• Below-desired height for an NFL quarterback and a little lean. 
• Been in the same offense coached by his Hall of Fame father for four years of college ball and three at the high school level. It’s also worth noting Colorado’s scheme was not pro-style, opening up questions about whether or not Sanders could adjust to a different offensive system in 2025. That could be problematic
• Rarely tried to fit throws between tight windows. It is unknown how willing Sanders will be to confidently test the kind of spaces he’ll see on Sundays. 
• Throwing motion was effortless and compact but a little slow-ish. May need a few tips to speed up his windup. 
• Particularly against tougher pass rushes, Sanders would frequently take five- and seven-step drops after getting the ball in shotgun, sometimes unnecessarily drifting even farther backward. It’s very likely Sanders took these extensive drops to buy an extra second before his O-line allowed pressure, but it may also have been so he could better see over his linemen. This tendency did add five-plus yards to any throw he made and may have impacted just how far he could push the ball. It will be a coaching point for teams to get Sanders to anchor into the pocket without drifting away. 
• Was sensitive to the pass rush, sometimes leaving pockets a second or two before pressure even showed itself. 
• Seemed to struggle processing coverage post-snap, leading to him holding the ball a little too long and deal with too many mistakes. His last game versus BYU is a scary example.
• Only threw with good velocity on shorter throws — his longer passes tended to have a little too much air under them and not enough zip. Far-side throws, including screens, were ripe for cornerbacks to jump the route and pick them off (ex: at Nebraska). Sanders doesn’t have a quick twitch and is much more of a cerebral lobber than a gunslinger.
• Had enough power to push the ball more than 40 air yards, but in two seasons at Colorado, he never threw a ball more than 46 air yards. 
• Guilty of playing Superman way more often than he should. Regularly passed up easy throws and held the ball too long in search of making a big play. Mixed results. Sanders is a better quarterback when he is afforded and/or chooses to play in structure. This is a big concern; any coach who can make that happen will get the best out of Sanders. 
• Took exactly eight snaps from under center in two years at Colorado and two years at Jackson State. 

Bottom line

Sanders is an NFL-capable QB with upside tied to coaching, scheme and personnel. Not a force multiplier based on lack of long-throw velocity/zip, size and decision-making, but certainly good enough to start and pilot an offense competitively. His accuracy, patience and escapability are big plusses, but he’s at his best when he’s not pushed back or out of the pocket.

Holding the ball too long, hunting for the big play all the time and not having a cannon will definitely come back to bite him in the NFL, as might any limitations running an offense he’s not already familiar with or scanning a defense that has him confused. It’s unlikely he’ll flame out, but it’s also unlikely he’ll be considered among the elite throwers in the league unless he’s in the perfect situation. 

What other draft experts say about Shedeur Sanders

Ryan Wilson: Good luck finding someone tougher than Sanders. He’ll stand in the pocket and take hit (after hit after hit) to make a play downfield. He’s not the best athlete and doesn’t have the arm strength of Cam Ward, but he does a lot of things really well. Would like to see him play on time more consistently, but part of that had to do with Colorado’s inconsistent offensive line.

Mike Renner: Sanders has the numbers and the experience, but his arm strength and frame leave a little to be desired. I expect him to be drafted higher than he should, but such is the nature of need at the quarterback position.

Josh Edwards: The criticism of Sanders’ personality or motivations has been unwarranted. He is a confident player but teammates enjoy being around him. His arm strength is good enough to play in the NFL, but he is best served in an environment that does not consistently ask him to cut through blustery winds. There is a confidence projecting some level of NFL success because of his competitive toughness, but just how much depends upon the situation surrounding him.

Chris Trapasso: Sanders is a solid but unspectacular quarterback prospect with a strong foundational skill set, including confident pocket presence and good but not always great ball placement. His arm strength is dependent on his footwork, and his accuracy drops when off-platform. While he reads the field well, his tendency to backtrack in the pocket leads to issues. His athleticism is below NFL standards, but his ability to throw with anticipation and limit turnovers provides upside. Sanders’ success in the NFL will depend on refining his mechanics under pressure and thriving in a structured offense with limited improvisation.

Shedeur Sanders college stats

High school: Trinity Christian School (Cedar Hill, Texas)
Class: 2021
Composite rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (88)

• QB: 37 | Texas: 75

High school accolades: Racked up 12,498 yards, 166 touchdowns and led his team to 47 wins during his prep career with his father, Deion, as his offensive coordinator

Check out Shedeur Sanders’s full 247Sports profile, here. For his MaxPreps profile, click here. 

The 2025 NFL Draft is to take place from April 24-26 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly mock drafts and a regularly available look at the eligible prospects.