As the 2025 NFL Draft crawls ever closer, it’s time for teams to second guess the athletes projected to go in the top half of the first round.
Seemingly every year as the calendar turns to April, news breaks from “NFL Insiders” that certain franchises are having second thoughts regarding exactly who will be chosen, specifically in the top ten.
Sure enough, recently there has been chatter that Colorado quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, has some serious question marks.
Sanders, whose father, Deion Sanders, was his college coach and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has been mocked to go as high as one overall to Tennessee and possibly at two to Cleveland.
Among the complaints by pro personnel who have watched him, the highly touted QB pats the ball before he throws it, a huge no-no in their eyes.
Recently, former first-round pick, Robert Griffin III, who played quarterback in the NFL for eight years, stated on X that the complaint is utter nonsense.
“Some NFL Media- ‘Shedeur Sanders patting the ball before he throws is a MASSIVE problem.’ People with Common Sense- ‘Tom Brady patted the ball before he threw it.’ Some NFL Media- “……..” Stop the hate already,” wrote Griffin.
Some NFL Media- “Shedeur Sanders patting the ball before he throws is a MASSIVE problem.”
People with Common Sense- “Tom Brady patted the ball before he threw it.”
Some NFL Media- “……..”
Stop the hate already.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) April 5, 2025
Patting the ball before a signal-caller throws it has been a hot topic among football coaches and personnel members for years.
For some, such as Griffin, the extra motion doesn’t matter at all.
To others, however, a QB patting the ball raises red flags such as poor throwing mechanics, bad throwing motion, decreased accuracy and a slow release, among other issues.
Current pro DBs have also shared that quarterbacks patting the ball can signal where they are going to throw.
Due to his surname, and the talent he displayed as a Buffalo, it’s very unlikely that Sanders’s ‘tell’ will cause him to slide too far in the draft.
