CFB insider highlights reasons why the Cleveland Browns won't take Shedeur Sanders at No. 2
Shedeur Sanders is awaiting his professional destination, which he will learn later this month in the 2025 NFL draft. The Colorado quarterback was one of the most productive passers in the nation last season, but ESPN's Matt Miller isn't sure that Sanders has a distinguishing trait.
Miller joined ESPN Cleveland radio on Wednesday to go over his thoughts on Shedeur Sanders.
"I think the question is, guys, what's the elite trait?" Miller said. "And I think, with Shedeur, maybe you could say accuracy. Elite accuracy. But, in my evaluation of him, at least, I see him throwing to a lot of spots at Colorado. You know, there's a lot of times where he's drifiting around in the pocket, and he's waiting for someone to come open, and then he throws to a spot.
"There's not a lot of on-time play from him consistently. And that would give me pause as far as projecting him to the NFL as a guy who's 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, not an elite runner ... and he doesn't have elite arm strength."
Miller acknowledged that he could see Sanders carving out a career for himself, but doesn't believe that odyssey should start with the No. 2 pick in the draft, which Cleveland currently owns.
"Do I think he can be a good NFL starter? Yeah, if he has, you know, some help around him, absolutely," Miller said. "But, I think at No. 2 overall, in my opinion, it's just a little bit too rich for me."
What do other analysts think of Shedeur Sanders?
Wave Sports + Entertainment's Bomani Jones considered Shedeur Sanders' draft stock last month on his podcast, "The Right Time with Bomani Jones." He said during that episode that he could envision Sanders sliding down the draft order into the second round, such as Geno Smith did in 2013.
A big reason for that is Sanders' lack of standout tangible skills.
“It would not shock me," Jones said. "Teams are not really going for the ‘It’s just something about him’ guys. They’re looking for big dudes with tools, right? Some exceptional or — perhaps, they’d like even more — collection of exceptional talents that you possess.
"I don’t think any of us can point to Shedeur and say, ‘What is the exceptional talent he possesses?’ What you can say is, ‘He’s got the willingness to stand in there and wait for the play to develop and he’ll, you know, be the tough guy and make that throw.”
Shedeur Sanders possesses a confident nature, which he displayed during a press conference at the NFL scouting combine in February. Much has been made about how brash he is, and it's a quality that might turn some teams away.