2025 NFL Draft: Mel Kiper Jr. fiercely defends Shedeur Sanders after patting-the-ball complaints

During Colorado’s “Ain’t Hard 2 Find” showcase, one of the big complaints about Shedeur Sanders was about patting the ball before he threw. People across social media pointed out the tendency while evaluating Sanders’ throws.

However, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. stood squarely in his corner. He fiercely defended Sanders and said he didn’t see any issues on the film.

Kiper continues to put Sanders as his top quarterback on his Big Board despite dropping him to the No. 9 overall pick in his Mock Draft 4.0. In fact, he praised the way the former Colorado star handled himself at the showcase, particularly when it came to the interviews.

“I never saw any problem with him at Colorado,” Kiper said on his Mock 4.0 special. “Watch the tape of Shedeur Sanders and watch the way he played when he got guys in his face. He got pressured, he got hit more than any quarterback in college football. And a lot of them were just blown blocks, olé blocks, where he had no shot. Yet, he hung in there, and guess what? He had the highest completion percentage of anybody playing college football. He’s not the first one we’ve had people say exactly that about when they throw the football.

“And another thing about Shedeur that I think goes unnoticed about this Pro Day, people aren’t talking about, is what he was saying about, ‘Hey, the receivers were out there running. I just tried to make it easier for them. I’m just throwing the football. Hey, I don’t need to throw a 100 mile-per-hour fastball all the time. I’ve got to make it easier for my receivers.’ Shedeur is already about that next level, about taking care of the players, those receivers and making it easier. So he gets it. He just has, as Deion said, that ‘it’ factor. It goes beyond the physical and athletic skills.”

Sanders put together an impressive senior season in 2025, throwing for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns while completing 74% of his passes – leading the nation in the category. When it comes to the nitty gritty about breaking down Sanders’ tape, though, Kiper pointed out it might not matter in a few years. He also made sure to note the offensive line issues considering Sanders took 42 sacks.

“And the point, Kev, we can nit-pick, we can say all we want about Shedeur,” Kiper told Kevin Negandhi. “We don’t know how this is going to play out three, four years from now. … I think if you give Shedeur time, in three or four years, we’ll see how it plays out. Josh Allen was called overrated still until last year. People were hating on him after Year 2. So let’s let it play out a little bit. Shedeur Sanders, I think, will be a heck of a quarterback in this league.

“And I said it about Tom Brady, you’ve got to protect Shedeur. You’ve got to protect all these quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes did nothing in two Super Bowls when he wasn’t protected. Even a great one, Patrick Mahomes, is reduced to mediocrity without those guys up front.”