Shedeur Sanders’ draft stock is taking more hits than a piñata at a kid’s birthday party. Ever since he entered the draft conversations, he can’t catch a break from criticism. Strike #1 started when he missed the Shrine Bowl practice and skipped Combine workouts, practically the place to build your resume. Strike #2 came when he took a shot at 32 franchises, saying, “If you’re not trying to change the franchise or culture, don’t get me.” Cocky? Perhaps confident, depending on the eyes of the beholder. Then, Strike #3, a brutal one, came when his dad, Coach Prime himself, proclaimed Buffs WR Jimmy Horn Jr. as the #1 kid. But now, it all seems to be coming to a breaking point, and that’s his inconsistency. And this time, it’s Trevor Sikkema who’s stirring the pot, and his timing couldn’t be worse.

Imagine this: a guy once hyped as a potential No. 1 pick is now sitting outside the top 10. Well, it turns out we are back to square one once again. As analyst Trevor Sikkema highlights, Shedeur Sanders might not be a top 10 pick at all. But Cam Ward is the one most likely to be selected, especially after his combine interview. “I could not find anybody that spoke with conviction with Shedeur Sanders being QB1, taken in the top 10, or even as a first-round quarterback. So to me, when I hear that, and I line that up with a lot of people talking about Cam Ward, he is somebody that you take that chance on, I feel like a 1 quarterback race at this point,” Sikkema said. Various reports state that the Tennessee Titans and the New York Jets are very much interested in taking Ward in, and that’s not the case with Shedeur.

The entire NFL world has a divided opinion on Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. Many talent evaluators agree that Shedeur delivers accuracy and sharp processing, qualities expected from a first-round quarterback. However, when comparing him to Miami’s Cam Ward, opinions differ. Some view Sanders as the superior passer, while others question his readiness compared to Ward’s steady development.

An NFC executive openly favored Ward, citing his personality and “phenomenal leadership” and commending his consistent approach throughout his career. “He’s got some little things he’s going to have to refine,” the executive admitted. “But he has the character and personality to do it.” It seems that the same exec didn’t prefer Sanders’ approach. Shedeur Sanders’ situation worsened when NFL reporter Josina Anderson posted on X “that a quarterbacks coach from a team drafting in the top 7 referred to Shedeur Sanders as coming off ‘brash’ and ‘arrogant’ in his team interview and making his assessment known to a number of people, per source.” Adding to Shedeur Sanders’ mounting challenges, Trevor Sikkema further explained his reasoning for excluding him from his top 10 list.

Sikkema added, “He understands how to read defenses, go through progressions, all of that, operate the pocket, and make protection calls. He knows how to play quarterback. The reason why I’m a little bit lower on him—I gave him a late second, early third round grade—is simply because I don’t know if he’s got that crazy arm talent to be able to compete with the Lamar Jacksons, the Josh Allens, and the Patrick Mahomes guys like that.”

Shedeur Sanders’ arm strength has been a long-standing point of contention. However, let’s remember: Joe Burrow didn’t enter the NFL with a rocket arm either. Scouts critiqued his arm strength coming out of LSU. He wasn’t going to out-throw Josh Allen, nor bulldoze defenders like Jalen Hurts. But does raw power truly define a quarterback? Just as Sikkema draws parallels between Shedeur and Patrick Mahomes—Is it a fair comparison, or a stretch too far?—consider Burrow. He didn’t need to do any of that.

Burrow’s success stems from exceptional decision-making, pinpoint accuracy, and unwavering composure under pressure. He reads the game like a grandmaster, delivers passes with surgical precision, and rarely makes a misstep. This is why he was the top overall pick and rapidly transformed the Bengals into contenders. Despite flashes of brilliance, Shedeur’s conduct seems to be compounding his situation. But has he impressed the pro teams enough to overcome the noise?

Shedeur Sanders’ NFL future stands on thin ice

Now, even though Shedeur Sanders impressed the media at the NFL Combine, some teams remained unimpressed. Reports suggest that certain franchises found him “unprofessional” and “disinterested” during their meetings. NBC’s Matthew Berry and The Ringer’s Todd McShay both referenced sources saying that Sanders appeared indifferent to teams’ opinions of him. An anonymous quarterback coach had already criticized his attitude, and recent reports are exacerbating the situation.

It all started when Todd McShay explained that two top-10 teams in need of a quarterback interviewed Sanders but came out unimpressed. “The two people that I spoke to in these positions left the meeting feeling like Shedeur Sanders was not overly concerned with what they thought of him,” McShay said. “They had a 15-minute meeting with them, and when they were done, they both said in different ways, different words, that they did not feel like Shedeur Sanders cared all that much about what that organization thought of him.” Later, he also added that teams even described Shedeur Sanders as “unprofessional” during these interviews.

Even Matthew Berry backed up those claims. “I spoke with two people on two different teams that met with Sanders. And completely independently of each other, they had the exact same things to say. They both said it was a bad meeting and that he came off as unprofessional and disinterested,” Berry wrote. He also noted that these sources raved about their meetings with Miami’s Cam Ward, who now appears to be their top quarterback prospect. Berry conceded, though, that Sanders’ performance might have been due to a bad day or a lack of interest in particular teams.

Despite the noise, Sanders still has fans in NFL circles. Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski had nothing but praise—“Shedeur is a very, very impressive young man. He was raised the right way. Obviously, he’s a heckuva football player; that’s evident off the tape, but I’m really impressed with the person.” Some early concerns about Sanders not wanting to go to Cleveland seem to have cooled, and the Browns appear content with either him or Jaxson Dart. With five of the top seven teams looking for a quarterback, Sanders will still likely go high in the draft—but the path just got a little rougher.