Should Shedeur Sanders’ Back Be a Concern for the NFL?

By college standards, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders had a good performance against a UCF team that was a two touchdown favorite entering the game.

The Buffaloes won 48-21 while Sanders went 28 of 35 (80.0%) for 290 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

WATCH FULL GAME HERE

The only thing is, I don’t watch these games from this perspective. I watch and study these games from an NFL Draft perspective, which is a totally different experience.

I’ll never forget my college journalism professor who taught me that if a building is on fire and four different reporters are standing on the east, west, north and south side of the building, all four reporters are going to have four different accounts of what happened.

Same thing applies here.

I am looking how Sanders’ film translates to what has been proven to succeed in the NFL. “Does he go through his progressions consistently,” is another thing I’m looking for. Making quick and accurate throwing decisions and keeping the ball out of harm’s way when he throws (ball security) are additional things I am looking for.

I am also watching for other concerns ⎯including medical concerns.

Lack of throwing anticipation

This is another thing I look for ⎯a quarterback’s ability to throw with anticipation. In other words, his ability to throw before receivers make their break when they are running their routes. This is ultra important at the next level where the game is faster, more complex and the pass coverage is tighter. Throwing windows are much smaller in the NFL.

Not only did Sanders typically look to throw to receivers after they made their break vs. UCF, he also looked for receivers who mostly were open when he made his throwing decisions. There were a handful of exceptions when he threw into tighter coverage intermediate to deep (11+ yards), but by-in-large this was what the game film revealed. A couple times he even double clutched before throwing.

It’s like he didn’t want to throw unless he was sure.

More confidence with the lead

Sanders came out in the first quarter of this game with a lot of short passes. He took a conservative approach to a better opponent. He was in his shell and he was testing the waters in Florida before he dipped more of his cleats in.

It wasn’t until the end of the first quarter when he opened it up and threw that nice looking 47-yard touchdown pass to receiver Will Sheppard.

He threw several other nice looking passes, but Colorado had the lead.

Ball placement and ball security

This is also extremely important in the NFL.

Sanders threw one ugly looking interception. It happened the first quarter when he failed to see the defender closing underneath on an intermediate route. Outside of that, I charted three additional passes that were broken up (PBUs).

His overall ball placement was decent as he continued to spread the ball around at all three route levels (short, intermediate and deep).

NFL take away

Sanders was sacked twice and he took this hit that put him back on the turf.

This is even more concerning after it was reported by SI Colorado Buffaloes late last season that Sanders suffered ‘a fractured back.’

“He was pulled midway through the game two week ago at Washington State and was taken to the locker room due to the injury. It was originally reported that CU’s ‘Grown” QB suffered an ankle injury, but he was complaining of numbness in his extremities.” 

Outside of that, Sanders continues to perform better the less he’s hit and sacked. His accuracy suffered if he was moved off his spot and forced to bail out of the pocket (2/4). He continued showing toughness, poise and keeping his eyes downfield against UCF. He did get a little animated with a receiver after a sack, but there are no new character concerns to add to the list.

From here on out ⎯I’m going to start watching if he’s throwing with anticipation, how he is performing in relation to the scoreboard and how his back holds up.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.