Keeler: CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders doesn’t need to throw at NFL combine this week to prove he’s better than Miami’s Cam Ward

BOULDER Welcome, Shedeur Sanders, to the Whos Who of Who Cares.

Jayden Daniels didnt throw at the NFL combine last year.

Neither did Caleb Williams.

Or Drake Maye.They went No.

2, No.

1 and No.

3 overall, respectively.

Really sank their draft stocks, didnt it?No.

2 tossed the ball 907 times at CU.

Between Jackson State and the Buffs, he chucked it 1,803 times as a collegian.

So what if hes not throwing at Indy this week? What will a shuttle run at Lucas Oil show that the tape hasnt underscored already?Its a mans league, Dave Syvertsen, a senior draft analyst with Ourlads scouting, told me when I asked about Shedeur and his NFL future before the start of the 2024 season.

At the QB position, youre the leader of the franchise, and I dont know if he has that in him.

But he hasnt proven it yet.Thus, the interviews.

The 1-on-1s.

The get-to-know-me sit-downs.If the Tennessee Titans indeed want a generational talent with the No.

1 pick, theyll snap up Shedeurs teammate, Travis Hunter.

But if its a QB1 whos ready from the jump, give me Sanders over Cam Ward.Talent? Charisma? Chutzpah? When compared to his old pal from Miami, Shedeur wins on all three counts.

Son of Prime is the Joe Namath of his generation brash, honest, unflappable and smooth in front of the cameras.Stability? Since 2023, Sanders completed 67% or better of his throws in 17 out of 24 appearances.

Ward over that same stretch hit that mark 13 times over 25 games.Constancy? Over the last two seasons, the former Buffs signal-caller threw for two or more scores in a game 19 times in 24 tilts (79.1% of the time), while Ward found the end zone multiple times in 19 of 25 contests (76%).He took some sacks (in 2023) that he probably shouldnt have, Jon Cooper, associate general manager at Ourlads, said of Sanders.

He needs to set his feet a little bit better, but his supporting cast wasnt the best.His accuracy, getting the ball in on those intermediate throws, those are some of the things that (teams want) in a QB.

Hes got that.

Then potentially, youre a No.

1 pick in the draft.No, scouts dont love the hero ball moments.

Sanders will have to get rid of the ball quicker at the next level and be more willing to give up on a play for his own physical health as much as his offensive coordinators sanity.But on the field? Theres not much left to prove.

The bigger question front offices have is about fit.

The receptivity to being coached by, and maybe berated by, a stranger.The upside of being coached by a Pro Football Hall of Fame dad your entire football life is the assumption of standards, on and off the field.

The downside is that no team, and no general manager, knows whats going to happen once stuff hits the fan.

And it will.

For rookies, it always does.I think the big thing is, even Tiger Woods needed a caddie, right? CU offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur offered a few months back.

So, as a coach, even Tiger Woods had to be reminded, You know, hit the 6-iron.

Well, no, please, just hit the 6-iron.

I think thats kind of the role (for me with Shedeur) because hes so smart.I can call a play we have an example where we get in (an) empty (formation) and we just call hitches and Ill say, Play with it.

And then he can change all the routes.

And that whole play could look totally different.

But I trust him to do that because hes really good at it.

So Ive got a great appreciation for him.

And Im looking forward to him just killing it at the next level.Related ArticlesSports Columnists | Keeler: MSU Denver basketballs secret MVP is 4-foot-2, weighs 62 pounds, and kicking cancers bootySports Columnists | Grading The Week: Will Rockies lose 100 again? Computers say yesSports Columnists | Keeler: Avalanche cant get better at NHL trade deadline until they get real about Gabe LandeskogSports Columnists | Keeler: Nuggets Christian Braun wants to start.

Michael Malone should let him.Sports Columnists | Renck vs.

Keeler: Can NBA All-Star Weekend be saved? Or is the product forever broken?Joe Burrow didnt throw in 2020.

Kyler Murray didnt throw in 2019.

Andrew Luck didnt throw in 2012.

Matthew Stafford didnt throw in 2009.

All four wound up being the first overall pick.If one of these NFL teams doesnt select (Sanders), Shurmur said, then I think theyre taking the second-best quarterback.If youre the seventh or the 17th-ranked QB in a draft class, youll bus tables at Indys St.

Elmo Steak House to erase doubts at the combine.

But when you hold the cards, you set the terms.

You let them come to you.Its a mans league.

Everythings a business decision now.

And not throwing for the cameras when youve got so little to gain is the right one.Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denvers teams..

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