Shedeur Sanders Called 'Fringe Starter' by NFL Exec, Compared to Teddy Bridgewater

Shedeur Sanders' stock in the 2025 NFL draft has been all over the place throughout the pre-draft process because people within the league seem to have wildly varying takes on what his ultimate ceiling will be as a pro.

One NFC personnel man told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that Sanders projects as a "fringe starter" and compared his skill set to Teddy Bridgewater.

"Fringe starter who makes good decisions and does some good things but won't get you over the top," the personnel man said.

Fowler noted of the six high-level personnel evaluators he polled about Sanders' draft grade, four of them didn't have him as a first-round prospect. The other two rated him "as a mid-to-late first-round talent."

The pro comps for Sanders, much like his stock, are all over the map. B/R's Dame Parson wrote he has "shades of Geno Smith with less arm talent."

One of the main criticisms that pops up in Sanders' scouting reports is how frequently he will chase the big play rather than stay on time and rhythm.

"However, Sanders takes too many hits because he tries to make a play and holds onto the ball. Sanders must improve his anticipation and get the ball out of his hands quicker. He would benefit from more velocity on drive throws," Parson wrote.

Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice echoed those sentiments, noting Sanders has a "bad tendency to drift backward in the pocket" instead of stepping up into his throws.

While no one would argue the Colorado offensive line was a quality unit, Sanders didn't get sacked 94 times in 24 games over the past two years only because of bad protection.

At Colorado's pro day last week, he did earn high marks for showing more velocity on his passes than it was assumed he had based on the tape. The arm talent isn't considered elite, but it's good enough to make it in the NFL.

Some of the issues with Bridgewater, the No. 32 pick in the 2014 draft, were injury-related. He missed basically two full seasons between 2016 and 2017 due to a significant knee injury.

Prior to the injury, the 2015 Pro Bowler had put up some decent numbers. He threw for 6,150 yards, 28 touchdowns and completed 64.9 percent of his attempts in 29 appearances over his first two seasons.

Bridgewater may seem like a disappointing outcome for Sanders given the hype around him, but there's something to be said for a quarterback who has had an 11-year career in the NFL.