Henry McKenna
NFL reporter
Do not see or see what has happened with Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.
Before the university season ended, Sanders seemed to be disputed with Ward for the best draft slot. But once the evaluators sank their teeth in the Sanders and Ward movie, the winner emerged, and perhaps triumphant. The Tessee Titans have not officially decided to go with Ward (and it seems that they made that decision a long time ago). It was clear in the combination.
In the media, we were going to go back to Sanders when Ward became the favorite of clear for the first general. Because as soon as the Titans went out with Sanders, there was no one to be in him.
The Cleveland Browns at number 2? Probably not.
What about the giants in third in general? In addition, it is not likely to happen.
The Las Vegas Raiders, in No. 7, just reaffirmed Geno Smith. The Saints in number 9 seem to be well with Derek Carr (even if you are worried about not being), and multiple reports have indicated that New Orleans won Sanders in the top 10.
Pittsburgh Steelers or Los Angeles Rams could work. But it is far from being sure that Sanders will land anywhere.
It currently seems like a QB prospect that will be lower than here, it is classified in many media boards, which is unusual. Usually, quarterbacks are higher than their large plate ranking because the position is very valuable. For that reason exactly, Sanders has a company at the bottom of the first round. There are Milroe de Ole Miss’ Miss, Jalen Milroe de Alabama and maybe even Tyler Shegh, whom an NFL executive told me that he was receiving a buzz to be a first round. It is possible that Sanders is not enjoying stock inflation that comes with being a QB. But those guys are.
Once it was wild to think that Sanders would fall from the Top 3. Now it is not totally shocking to suggest that it could end in Round 2 Axy QB4.
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Are critic or the Sheders outers getting out of control?
What happened? Well, it’s both the NFL and Sanders.
Ward is not Patrick Mahomes, even when he compems the two players as perspectives. But on the day of the draft, he will listen to analysts to compare. Some of that is simply marketing, selling a package that fans can understand and justify with no. 1 General Selection. Actually, Ward would be the fourth QB in the class last year, at best. Several people in the NFL with whom I talked to say that Ward would have the QB7 leg last year.
Now, last year’s class was publicized as well as anyone in recent memory, so it is a high comparison. But it is also an important context, because Ward has obvious holes in his game when it comes to recognition, decision making, precision and launch trajectory. Those are, ironic, all Sander’s strengths. But for Ward, the emotion is found in the strength of his arm, the size (6 feet 2, 220 pounds) and creativity.
This is the NFL.
NFL evaluators seem to assess a player’s ability to create out of structure as much as their ability to create in structure. One of that is because they are university university systems rarely ask quarters to make progress in the NFL, so it is almost a waste to continue assessing that ability. Because university readings are not equally translated to Pro readings (but, again, Sanders demonstrated the ability to move through progressions and find the right place for football in Colorado).
More than anything, it is impossible to train the strength of the arm. It is impossible to train mobility. And creativity outside structure feeds on these two tools. In other words, it is impossible to train creativity: those great players of splashes that Josh Allen, Mahomes and Lamar Jackson generate from nothing. But it is possible to train skill and pocket progressions.
The teams are more willing to risk in Ward, a perspective that they think they can train, unlike Sanders, which requires less training but can have less rise. Because they are not just the Titans who like Ward. Recently, Browns and Giants have explored trade to number 1, according to reports. They only do it for one reason: take the Miami QB.
Change the biggest game: CAM WARD, Shedeur Sanders or Ashton Jeanty?
But maybe I am launching Sanders as if it were the perfect perspective. It is not.
Even before entering Sanders, there are problems. First, he is the son of Deion Sanders. The NFL teams will affirm that they are adopting the extravagance of the youngest generation, but the NFL is still conservative and uncomfortable with change. Therefore, Sanders’ name is likely to make some teams nervous. Shoedeur will bring a lot of media attention based on his name and his father’s legacy. Then it is the offensive context of Colorado: tons of screen screen and without passes protection. Then, the offensive did not always show what Shoreeur could or could not do. There were too many limitations.
Once you get all that, you see a solid university field marshal who understands the game and puts the ball well. But he is one who cannot escape from the pocket, that he cannot increase the ball in tight windows and cannot make some happen when the play decomposes. It is a scarce pocket pin.
It is not exactly boring. But it is not exactly exciting.
And that almost seems strange as exciting that is out of the field with its watches, jewelry and cameras. But that is part of the problem, it seems. For NFL teams, their lack of flash in the field does not mix well with the flash. To make things worse, Sanders’ attitude, his answers to the interview questions, has left some teams. Some think That is linked to the fact that he is a black field marshal, But whatever the reason, anonymous coaches criticize interviews prior to Sanders Draft.
Often, the final evaluation of a QB is reduced to identifying at least one thing that does better than its classmates. I am not sure that Sanders has a quality that establishes it separately.
Ward is the most creative with the strongest arm. Dart could be the most efficient mixture of pin and corridor, with unique efficiency and nose to collect the first attempts on the ground. Milroe is the best athlete, an elite games creator with the ball in her hands. Shegh is the best pure pitcher. Sanders is good in many things, but it’s not great at all. And although his presence takes fireworks from the field, he does not necessarily bring them to the field.
The uncertainty about Ward (precision, decision making) has enough bone to create uncertainty in its draft stock. And the certainties around Sanders (precision, decision making) are not enough to create certainty in their draft stock.
But it shows you what the NFL wants right now. And that is Ward.
Before joining Fox Sports as a reporter and NFL columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven covering the Patriots for USA Today Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow it on Twitter in @Henrycmckenna.
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