QB Shedeur Sanders uses vast array of football resources to emerge as possible No. 1 draft pick

By Canadian Press on February 28, 2025.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Shedeur Sanders took advantage of the abundant resources to emerge as a potential starting NFL quarterback.

He studied under six different offensive coordinators, fine-tuned his people skills by working with two different sets of college players, took notes from his Hall of Fame father and even managed to get some insight from Tom Brady.

Now the 22-year-old former Colorado star believes he’s ready for the jump from college to the pros, primed to make an immediate impact for whatever team takes him April 24.

“We were able to talk to running back coaches, receiver coaches, defensive coordinators, all these different types of coaches to give you their perspectives on what you need to improve on and grow at,” he said Friday at the NFL’s annual scouting combine. “So I’m realistic, I know what I need to improve on, I know what I need to grow at. Year by year, put on the tape, those mistakes cut down yearly. I’m hyper aware of everything I need to do to be successful. I’m ready to get to it.”

It was a humbling moment for Sanders during a short interview session in which he left little to the imagination. He arrived wearing a shiny, diamond necklace and had a confident, almost boastful, personality much like that of his longtime coach and father, Deion Sanders.

But when it came to business, Sanders toned down the message and instead sounded appreciative for the opportunities provided by his football family and their football world.

“He took me in his truck to this field, this high school field,” Sanders said, describing a workout with Brady in Tampa, Florida. “From then on, he would just tell me knowledge and I filmed everything, I recorded everything. Even now, I just go back and listen to the things he said at that time, and it registers.”

Those study sessions helped Sanders develop from wonderkid into the potential No. 1 overall draft pick. He seems to battle for that spot with former Miami quarterback Cam Ward, former college teammate Travis Hunter and perhaps former Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.

But none of the others have a resume quite like Sanders.

He believes working with Football Championship Subdivision athletes at a historically Black college, Jackson State in Mississippi, and Power 4 teammates with the Buffaloes helped him learn how to better relate with various people.

Working last season with Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, an NFL veteran, helped him understand what the expectations will look like next season.

“I’m able to adjust to any offense and every scheme and make it work,” Sanders said. “But none of this would have happened without Jackson State. That was a stepping stone. From there, I was able to go to Colorado and learn all those life lessons I learned there. So I’m extremely grateful for both universities to get me to this point.”

It could be enough to make any scout realize that beyond the jewelry, the image and the personality, Sanders’ full-throated focus on football has perhaps put him ahead of schedule and ahead of the others in this year’s draft class.

All he has to do now is prove it.

“I know what I want and I know what’s going to make me succeed,” he said. “That’s these conversations with the coaches and the GMs, understanding, ‘Look, this is how I’m going to get on track because I’ve tried everybody’s way, I tried every different style, every different way.’ I know what works for me and what makes me play my best.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Michael Marot, The Associated Press