The playmaker or the quarterback?
The New York Giants may select one of two Colorado players, depending on the Cleveland Browns’ selection at No. 2 overall. Suppose the Browns select edge defenderer Abdul Carter or make a surprise pick, and Cam Ward goes No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans. In that case, the Giants may choose between Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders or Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter.
Sanders and Hunter were a dynamic duo in Pat Shurmur’s offense with a shaky offensive line. Sanders threw for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024; Hunter caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards with 15 touchdowns. The offense had only a few concepts that were simplified due to the ineffective protection, but Sanders displayed elite toughness through the many hits he absorbed.
Here are my scouting reports on both players:
Shedeur Sanders
Strengths
- Good posture in the pocket – maximizes measurables
- Very good footwork on dropback
- Sturdy and good balance in the pocket – solid overall composure
- Does well to maneuver and navigate within the pocket
- Keeps eyes downfield when pocket gets muddy
- Smoothly gets his body oriented in quick game
- Displayed excellent patience to wait for second/third window throws
- Good fluid OVER THE TOP throwing motion – effortless
- Smart quarterback with sound comprehension on how to attack defenses
- Intelligent pre-to-post snap work
- Plays well within play structure
- Plus asset in a short – rhythmic – passing attack
- Creative mind to improvise (lack of athletic ability and arm talent hold him back from maximizing this skill-set)
- Displayed good anticipation over the middle of the field (seam, DIG)
- Good overall touch and pacing over the MOF
- Understands how to throw between the numbers (timing, placement, touch, etc.)
- Hits the upfield shoulder of WRs on seam and skinny posts over the MOF
- Excellent timing on his passes
- Displayed quality touch and pacing in the red zone
- Above-average overall accuracy
- Distributes the football well in the short-intermediate parts of the field
- Ran an NFL styled offense (Pat Shurmur)
- Very used to playing under pressure – stands tall in the pocket
- Takes massive hits and gets right back up
- Elite toughness
Weaknesses
- Slightly undersized
- Below-average athlete: speed, acceleration, and explosiveness
- Struggled to escape sacks in college (athletic & OL issues)
- OL was poor but developed a tendency to bail cleaner pockets
- Can drift in the pocket too often
- Devastating losses trying to escape sacks
- Tendency to burp the baby before releasing football
- Passes lack velocity
- Ball tends to float – lack of zip
- Below-average arm strength
- Deep passes tend to die in the air
- Accuracy wasn’t always pin-point – especially on short passes outside the numbers
- Lackluster off-platform thrower
- Had tendency to skip or low-ball short passes to his right or left
- Ran NFL...
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