Back in the not-so-halcyon days of last season, the Las Vegas Raiders and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders felt like a match made in football heaven.
Raider Nation grew weary of inconsistent quarterback play from Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, clamoring for a franchise savior. To certain sects of the fanbase, Sanders was the guy they were looking for, boasting the requisite arm talent on the field and the desired swagger off of it. His long-standing connection to Raiders minority owner Tom Brady made it a near-perfect match.
However, ‘Mister Right’ has looked much less the part in recent times.
Shedeur Sanders has been given scathing reviews from NFL coaches and executives.
NFL’s Tom Pelissero compiled some blurbs about the quarterback prospects in the 2025 draft class, and the ones he collected in regards to Sanders were not exactly flattering.
Much of the concerns from the anonymous sources Pelissero went to related to Shedeur’s insulation due to only playing for his father Deion Sanders, suggesting that the quarterback has yet to experience a traditional locker room experience.
“You can’t have your dad saying, ‘I’m going to come put a quarterback coach on blast who said you were arrogant.’ So, he can’t be criticized?,” said an anonymous NFC executive, per Pelissero.
“When you hear all the anecdotal stories about the person, it’s not that he’s a bad kid. He has been so insulated,” said a NFC scouting director. “It’s going to be a culture shock when he really learns how a locker room really operates and how it really works inside a building. He’s had so much input on the offensive game plan and who the coach is, and everything’s been catered to him.”
It is hard to argue against the notion that Sanders has been given the messiah treatment at Colorado. Less than four months after Sanders’s final college game, it was announced that his and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter‘s jersey number would be retired. The sheer quickness of the move drew heavy backlash, particularly in regards to Sanders.
Even worse, some have claimed that such entitlement has shone through in the course of interviews.
“The worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life,” a longtime NFL assistant coach said. “He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates… But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”
Pelissero even added on by comparing Sanders’s experience to that of former NFL quarterback Brian Brohm, who was coached by family all the way to the pros. Brohm was unable to truly get a grasp on such an environment and, as a result, he was quickly beaten out by seventh-round pick Matt Flynn for the backup spot with the Green Bay Packers. While Pelissero stressed that Sanders is not guaranteed to follow such a career path, it does indicate that the floor with the Colorado quarterback is much lower than it appears on the surface.
With such critiques coming out so soon before the draft, teams might back away from Sanders in order to reduce the risk. However, the Raiders might have to decide just when the risk is worth the reward.
Analyst still believes Raiders are in on talented quarterback prospect.
