NFL Teams Need to Study Shedeur Sanders vs. No. 68 Utah

The first quarter was a mixed bag for Colorado quarterback (QB) Shedeur Sanders against No. 68 Utah.

WATCH THE GAME HERE

Sanders came out throwing, but his first pass was an ugly looking interception into zone coverage (defenders are assigned specific areas of the field to defend in pass coverage instead of being assigned to cover specific receivers), which looked even uglier on the replay from his vantage point.

On the next drive, he held the ball too long and got sacked. From there, he held the ball too long again and ended up throwing it away at the intermediate route level (11-19 yards).

Utah jumped offsides and Sanders took advantage on 4th and 5 finding his wide receiver Will Sheppard on a 40-yard ’50-50′ deep ball for a touchdown.

BEFORE YOU KNEW IT…

Colorado had a punt return for a touchdown and they were up 14-3 with 5:49 left in the opening quarter.

The next drive began with back-to-back short wide receiver bubble screens. Sanders then threw the ball away to avoid getting sacked and the offense went three and out.

Colorado ended the first quarter with a running play.

Again, I don’t watch these games from a fan’s perspective, I watch them from an NFL Draft perspective.

Second quarter

The first play of the second quarter began with Sanders dancing around and holding the ball too long before he fired it into the turf. He ended up getting sacked and the drive ended in a three-and-out.

The next drive was a short pass, followed by a short range pass break up (PBU). On third down, Sanders launched it deep, picking up a pass interference call. However, that drive also stalled out after a couple more running plays and an intermediate pass that went through the receivers’ hands.

Sanders then started the next drive by holding onto the ball too long once again and scrambling around before launching another intermediate pass that landed on the turf. A holding penalty followed. After a handoff on a running play, Sanders found an open receiver short-range in zone coverage in the middle of the field. The Colorado QB then couldn’t handle a slightly off target snap, which resulted in a fumble and Utah recovered.

A handful of short passes highlighted the next drive before Sanders threw his best looking pass at that point of the game with 3:15 remaining before halftime. He bailed out of pressure before finding wide receiver Travis Hunter waving his arms signaling he was open at the intermediate route level against zone coverage. After a few more short passes, and another PBU, Sanders found Hunter for a 28-yard completion against zone coverage. Then on the next play, Sanders threw a 5-yard fade pass for a touchdown vs. man coverage (cornerback responsible for tightly covering the receiver). That was his second-nicest looking pass of the game.

Second half for Sanders

• Running back Isaiah Augutave 37-yard touchdown run
• Wide Receiver Drelon Miller 47-yard touchdown pass (vs. zone coverage with 25 of those “passing yards” being picked up by Miller after the catch).
• Running back Charlie Offerdahl 4-yard touchdown run
• Wide receiver Travis Hunter 5-yard touchdown run

Everything else was a bunch of short passes, some yardage after the catch and another 49-yard completion for Sanders into loose zone coverage when Miller picked up another 25 of those “passing yards” after the catch.

Sanders added a couple more short runs. It also needs to be noted he threw his third PBU of the game.

Colorado 49 Utah 24

NFL takeaway

The game consisted of a heavy dose of short passes for Sanders and him mainly throwing into established throwing windows.

1st quarter 3rd and 24

4th quarter 2nd and 8

4th quarter 2nd and 15

Sanders went 30/41 for 340 yards, three touchdowns with one interception. That sounded way better than it looked. Only 10 of those passing attempts were intermediate (5) to deep (5) attempts. He was sacked three times and tended to hold the ball too long throughout. He also was inconsistent going through his progressions.

NFL quarterbacks must be able to throw with anticipation. They must be able to throw to a spot BEFORE receivers make their breaks on the routes they are running. NFL cornerbacks are too savvy, too fast and too athletic.

Whoever thinks Sanders is franchise NFL QB prospect needs to study this game and ask themselves one question, “How’s this going to look in the NFL?”

The game film doesn’t lie.

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.