Shedeur Sanders is entering the 2025 NFL Draft as a consensus top-two quarterback prospect. He was critical to the revival of the Colorado Buffaloes program and led them to an excellent 2024 campaign.
But, even beyond his on-field skill, it’s his mentality and fortitude that are setting him apart. Teams and analysts continue to rave about his demeanor as the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders continues to impress at every turn. Even at the NFL Combine, he became the talk of the football world once again.
Shedeur Sanders Setting Himself Apart
Last year, behind a putrid offensive line, Sanders was still able to tally incredible numbers, going for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions. Additionally, his efficiency was something to behold as he had a career-high 74% completion percentage.
But, at the Combine, he’s been able to impress nearly everyone with his interviews already. Speaking from the Combine, it was trusted NFL reporter and analyst Ian Rapoport who spoke glowingly about the Colorado product.
“I wanna walk you through an interesting situation to me as it pertains to Shedeur Sanders. We talked about – This is not a kid that grew up like a lot of the other kids. He’s been around cameras his whole life, he’s been in the spotlight his whole life. He’s just different and does seem to be ready for all this.”
To Rapoport, adjusting to the mainstream attention of the NFL isn’t going to bother the son of Prime Time like other candidates in the Draft. “I reached out to someone close to Shedeur, close to Deion Sanders about a week or so before the Combine trying to see if he was gonna throw.”
From our Combine coverage: Shedeur Sanders is different from most draft prospects. A pre-Combine interaction with him told a fascinating story about why he's ready for the bright lights. pic.twitter.com/YODqyoEKOf
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 1, 2025
The answer? “Coach is going to hit you directly. I get a Facetime, it’s Deion Sanders. ‘Oh, I’m trying to figure out what Shedeur is gonna do for the Combine.’ He goes, ‘One second, let me get him’. What happened next blew Rapoport away.
“[He] puts Shedeur on the phone, explains the whole thing for me, breaks down his goals, his appearance at the Combine, why he’s not gonna throw, what he’s gonna do at the Pro Day, and sounded like a 30-year-old.”
To him, that kind of maturity is hard to quantify or find in a rookie class. “That’s the kind of conversation and interaction you rarely have and to me, one reason why he seems ready for this.”
So far, there has been a ton of positive flying around news cycles about Sanders. The latest mock draft by PFSN, too, has him going first overall, as part of a Draft day between the Tennessee Titans and the Las Vegas Raiders.
“The marriage of Shedeur Sanders and the Las Vegas Raiders feels too good to be true. With Las Vegas in desperate need of an answer at quarterback, they move up a few spots to find their quarterback of the future.
Sanders is an accurate passer who stays tough in the pocket and delivers his throws with a sense of touch down the field. Having a head coach like Pete Carroll and a superstar target like Brock Bowers would help the Colorado star mask his shortcomings and emphasize his strengths” said PFSN analyst Jacob Infante.
He’s shown that he has the quality of a top-class quarterback on the field. But the more conversations that come out from people around him, the more it seems like he has the maturity and poise to handle the situation as well.