Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

NFL Analyst Believes Shedeur Sanders Doesn’t Have “Elite Traits” To Be a First Rounder in the 2025 NFL Draft!

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The NFL draft is right around the corner and this season we have a lot of elite players coming into the draft. We’re talking about guys like Travis Hunter, Mason Graham, Abdul Carter, Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and many more. Sanders was projected to be one of the top picks in the NFL draft, but recently his draft stock has been slipping down further and further. Why? It’s because many analysts are starting to believe that Sanders did not play the toughest of competition, and they are also starting to question his athleticism and his overall traits for a quarterback.

The Buffaloes’ QB was highly accurate when it came to delivering the pass, as in 2023 he had 69.3 percent pass completion rate and 74.0 percent in the 2024 season. However, in his final season playing for the Buffaloes, he was sacked 42 times and that is something that NFL scouts and analysts hate to see. While Sanders threw for 4134 passing yards in 2024, along with 37 touchdowns, his dependability is still a looming question going into the NFL draft.

Recently an NFL analyst compared Sanders to Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins, and as mind blowing as that sounds, he also added that the QB does not have “elite traits,” to be some of the top picks in the NFL draft. Let’s find out who that is.

"I'm not impressed by the physical traits … [Shedeur Sanders'] arm is B-level" 👀 @Nate_Tice & @dpbrugler discuss if Shedeur's game will translate to the NFL.

(via Football 301 Podcast) pic.twitter.com/UTCRy6mDit
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 15, 2024

Tim Hasselbeck Does Not Believe That Sanders Is a Top-Tier Quarterback

NFL Analyst Tim Hasselbeck, a former QB who played for four years in the NFL, had an outlandish take as he believes that Sanders does not have what it takes to be an elite QB in the NFL and he also questioned his athleticism going into the NFL draft. Here is what he said-

“He (Shedeur Sanders) is smart, he knows how to play the position. I think where it gets really tricky is, you’re talking about ‘rarified’ era when you’re talking about drafting a guy at the top of the draft. Look he just is not as physically talented as you would like to see. I mean, it sounds crazy considering he’s Deion Sanders’ son but like that’s just the case.”

Hasselbeck Compared Sanders to Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins

Hasselback shared his comparison of Shedeur Sanders and he said, “My comp on Shedeur Sanders, has kinda been in that like Andy Dalton range. People have compared him to Kirk Cousins. Look those are compliments. Both of those guys have thrown for over 250 touchdowns through their NFL career. Both of those guys have led teams to the playoffs. But when you’re talking about top half of round one, you’re looking for elite traits, and he just doesn’t have those. Now you’re gonna have to beat the market at quarterbacks. So you’re gonna have to draft a rookie quarterback at some point because of what’s happened with the Deshaun Watson deal.”

Yikes: ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck says Shedeur Sanders's player comp is in the Andy Dalton range:

"My comp on Shedeur Sanders has kind of been in that Andy Dalton range."

😳😳😳pic.twitter.com/u6VUpJz16m
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 1, 2025

The latest draft projection has Sanders being drafted to the Cleveland Browns and while he may have fallen out of the top 10 range in the NFL draft, there is no doubt that he is still one of the best quarterbacks in the 2025 class. Whether Sanders will be similar to Andy Dalton and Cousins is still up for debate. However we believe that Sanders is a much better prospect than he is given credit for.

Also Read: Deion Sanders Denies Guiding Shedeur to Specific NFL Team

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Eric Divakaran

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I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.