Big Blue View
Does Sanders make sense for the Giants?
The quarterback discussion surrounding the 2025 NFL Draft has featured one name for more than a year.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been considered one of the top quarterbacks in this draft class since he decided to return to school following the 2023 season.
Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders is widely considered the draft’s second-best quarterback. He has been linked to – or floated as an option for – the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, and even the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Is he, though? Or is this a case of media personalities using a famous brand name to drum up excitement for a draft that’s otherwise lacking in star power (if not talent)?
After returning to college, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders proclaimed that had Shedeur declared for the 2024 class, he would have been the second quarterback taken. Considering how highly that class is regarded, it should speak very well of Shedeur as a prospect.
Of course, Shedeur is Deion’s son as well as his player, so he may be a bit biased. Let’s take a look for ourselves and evaluate Shedeur Sanders as a prospect. Are there concerns that are being overlooked, or does he live up to the hype?
Measurables
Sanders is, frankly, the least impressive physical specimen of the top quarterback prospects. He might not come in under most teams’ thresholds at 6-foot 1 ½ inches tall, 212 pounds, but he’s also hardly an imposing figure. He has a relatively slight frame that is likely maxed out with little room to add mass or strength.
Like Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart, we don’t have any numbers to quantify Sanders’ athleticism. But where their tape reveals good (if not elite) athletes, Sanders is probably best described as a “functional” athlete. Sanders simply doesn’t have stand-out physical or athletic traits and at 23 years old, he’s physically mature.
At Jacksonville State
At Colorado
So much of what we focus on with quarterbacks is tangible — things like their height, weight, 40 time, or their ball velocity. However much of what makes a quarterback successful is intangible.
We can’t really measure things like mental processing, football IQ, leadership, or competitiveness, but we can see their effects.
Football IQ and Mental processing
This is the area upon which Sanders will be drafted.
He is well regarded for his football IQ and processing, though his play on tape is a bit more nuanced than simply proclaiming him a savant and moving on.
Sanders played in a typical RPO and quick-game based spread offense at Jacksonville State. He was only asked to make one or two-man reads on a given play and executed that well. Things changed when he...
