One of the most polarizing players in the entire NFL design class of 2025 should finally go home.
And it took too longer than experience to learn his destination. To much longer.
Shoedeur Sanders slipped out of the first round on Thursday evening and fell on day two of the NFL version of 2025. But the slide did not stop there. Sanders was not set up on Friday evening and moved all the way to the fifth round.
Where the slide finally ended.
The Cleveland Browns, Evite Sanders pass on several times and prepare Dillon Gabriel on Friday evening, made the Quarterback from Colorado at no. 144, early in the fifth round.
Sanders’ pre-roding process included an incredible amount of debate in the media room, because it seemed as if every possible outcome was on the table for the QB Colorado. There were times when it seemed
Now we finally know where he starts his NFL career.
This is what is striking in his game and a large area that he has to improve.
Excel in Job One
There are many aspects of playing with a high -turn quarterback. But you can possibly distil the work in one core mantra.
Can you place the football where it should be, when it should be there?
Of course many elements go into an antenna that question, such as the ability to diagnose the defense, but accuracy is needed to be needed. If the quarterback cannot place football where it should be, it is difficult for the attack to find.
There is the definition between general accuracy and ball placement. A good throw is one that the recipient can catch – this is the general accuracy. But a better throw is a throw that the recipient can catch while he is in step and turns into a big win, or perhaps one that takes the recipient away from the leverage of the nearest defender.
That is ball placement.
Sanders excels in Boch.
His combination of general accuracy and ball placement at the elite level stands out in this class. For example, Cory Kinnan, who maps enormous work with quarterbacks, had to say this in the history of Sanders: “Sanders” weighed on-target percount of 73.26 makes him one of the most accurate quarterbacks that I have ever chart.
Kinnan didn’t stop there.
“Sanders is not only the must -quartback in this year’s class with a broad margin, but he is one of the most accurate quarterbacks I have ever collected,” continued Kinnan. “While Sanders’ physical tools are on average to a light above Argege, and while he has continued the Quarterback class.”
The accuracy of Sanders and the ball placement are also on film.
Take this game AGALESS UTAH, for Sanders throws a Safety splits terty to cover 2 look:
Note: For reading Apple News You must click on the link to view the recorded clips.
What I like about this, this is the ball placement. Sanders leads the recipient away from the nearest defender, the split safety on the right side of the field. Sanders’ film is filled with example of the Quarterback, knowing exactly where the nearest threat is, and leads his recipient away from danger. That is how you create big games in an attack … and how you make friends in the dressing room as a QB.
This following example, a deep shot against a cover 2 -look from Kansas State, emphasizes the accuracy of Sanders in the field. See how he places this in the perfect place, throwing from the left hashmark to the right sidelines:
You can’t throw this route better than Sanders in this example.
This next game is a touchdown pass for Travis Hunter Jr. Against UCF, who comes except for a scared-8 after the route. Sanders knows that safety is lurking in the middle of the field, so see how he drives through Hunter and puts this throw on his frame instead of having danger to him:
In breaking routes often have to be thrown on the frame, as low as possible, to prevent large collissions. Sanders does that here to perfection.
Here is another example of Sanders who understands the defender’s leverage and leads his recipient open. On this piece, Agabit Oklahoma State Sanders throws a final blur to the right side of the formation, and shaded with the defender, Sanders leads his WR to open space the figures:
Just beautiful, to borrow a sentence from Max Verstappen.
Although many of Sailles have been throwing outside the hashmarks, even outside the figures, Sanders is not afraid to challenge a defense in the middle. This is perhaps where he shines the placement of the ball the most. Take this example against Texas Tech, where he splits a few subdivisians using speed, anticipation and ball placement:
Whether this throw against Baylor, where he will continue his recipient again because he knows that the safety of the back is lurking, waiting to deliver a big hit:
Sanders is a specialist in ball placement, and that is a job for a QB.
It is a job that he does extremely well.
Can I refuse the invitation?
The biggest question when it comes to Sanders: can he refuse the invitation?
What I mean by that is this. Sanders face to tons busy in the bag. Last year alone, he was fired 42 times, which was understood as an improvement compared to the 52 bags that he has endured the 2023 campaign. I did indeed play behind an attacking line that was at time to protect him, and not all those 94 pockets were of his creation.
But of them were.
There were cetainly moments in Colorado, where Sanders invited the pressure, and it became something of a self -fulfilling prophecy. There is a line of thought that “pressure is production” for a defense, the “body flow” theory that the more you put pressure on a quarterback, the more they start to feel pressure, either real or observed.
That is certainly the game of Sanders.
Take this game Agaless Nebraska, a game where he was fired five times:
There is a window for Sanders for this in -breaking route on the right side of the field. But an example of letting the ball fly, he hesitates in the bag. The reason? The pass Rusher is probably starting to break the interior of the attacking line. Instead of making this throw, Sanders who feel pressure, anticipating to have to expand the piece with his legs instead of anticipating this.
The results? A bag and a loss of 11 meters. 1st-and-10 situation turtles in the 2nd and 21, and there are not many plays in the Playbook for that down-and-distance scenario.
Look in this game Agaless Colorado State, how quickly Sanders pulls down this ball and turns a passer in a runner:
This is a mirrored curl/flat concept, with a deep curly route and a route to the flat on both sides of the field. The two curly routes are open – especially the curl on the left side of the field – but Sanders never gives them a chance that immediately pulls down this ball and becomes in scrable.
He slides download for a minimal profit, but that is on a Saturday against Colorado State. What happens on an NFL Sunday?
A final example, on this game against Baylor:
When we talk about a quarterback that throws Antision, this is a good example. Sanders opened the route after the corner on the left. If he lets this throw go with a little anticipation, the buffalo have a big game.
He hesitates instead. As he tries to climb the bag, the hesitation invites the pressure from the edge and the potential big game goes into the books instead of it as a bag.
The landing site is crucial for Sanders. Now that we know where he is going to start his NFL career, we can begin to combine how his Rookie season will unfold. But by sliding to the fifth round, the expectations will be very different for Sanders while I am living in the NFL.
