I don’t know why we still have to be talking about this. To quote the NFL Network, “Despite taking some hellacious hits, he hangs in the pocket and doesn’t drop his eyes to see the rush. His toughness is unquestionable. Overall, Sanders doesn’t have elite size, arm strength or athleticism, but he can find success in an offense based on timing and ball placement.” Yet the second highest ranked QB on the board is still on the board, and nobody looks interested in taking him. Is he actually a bad quarterback? He was the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner. He’s 23 years old. He’s played 4 years of college football. So, no. He’s not a bad QB.
He’s a Sanders.
That means there is an arrogance and an attitude that teams were not willing to deal with–both from him and his father. They didn’t think he could lead. They didn’t want him to be the face of their franchise. So, they didn’t pick him. Then they added insult to injury by picking straight scrubs ahead of him. The kid can play, and teams don’t want him. Why? There are some factors involved that are easy to reach for. I listed attitude, but race has to be discussed as well. That same attitude we are acting like is a bad thing is what made Baker Mayfield and Johnny Manziel such highly regarded prospects. A former NFL player turned analyst, Emanuel Acho had a an answer that made sense to me, “Number one, he didn’t code switch. What do I mean, ‘he didn’t code switch,’ Shedeur Sanders did not change his identity or how he comes off for the sake of the decision makers and who are the decision makers in the National Football League primarily non-minorities, primarily white people, he did not code switch, he stayed true to Shedeur.”
“The problem is he didn’t make himself more palatable to decision makers, he didn’t do it, and in job interviews, whether it’s the National Football League or any job interview, oftentimes it behooves you to make yourself more palatable to decision makers. Shedeur Sanders did not do that.”
I don’t know that he will get drafted. Finding out if he does is suddenly must see TV.