“If you’re not trying to change the franchise or the culture, don’t get me.” When we first heard these words from Shedeur’s mouth during the Combine, it rang alarm bells in our heads. Now, from what we and the fans have seen with these seasons in Colorado, Shedeur Sanders has proven himself to be a phenom – but something felt off. And our suspicions came true back on February 28th when it was confirmed that Shedeur Sanders won’t be throwing at the Combine. Now, let us paint a simple picture for y’all: Hearing this was like hearing Hayden Christensen retiring from acting and the subsequent role of Anakin Skywalker being played by some random stranger – it was a shocker, and the hate that flooded in, well, let’s just say it was harsh.

“Okay, let’s just say, for the sake of argument, Ocho, everything that he said. Everything that this coach said was that he’s brash, and he’s arrogant. Can he play?… Yeah, can he play football?” Shannon Sharpe pointed out. Let’s break it down: Shedeur’s is “brash” and “arrogant” for not wanting to throw at the Combine and sticking to the interviews. For some fans, this sounds like a “grave mistake” a QB can make – after all, the Combine results are what determines your fate in the NFL, right? Yeah, say that to Tom Brady.

See, back on Thee Pregame Network, Warren Sapp pointed out the perfect defense for Shedeur: “Yeah, you completed 75% of your passes with your weak arm. That’s how it goes, that’s what you do. And then you did it with a sh*** O-line and an OK O-line.” Time and time again, the problem with Colorado was the O-line, and we have seen this quarterback get rocked in the pocket but get up and make some spectacular throws.

8 sacks against Baylor. Eight. 

This guy still got back up, threw a 40+ yard bomb to LaJohntay Wester in OT, and won the game for the Buffs while his pocket was collapsing around him. Forget that – remember Jayhawks? Shedeur had no one. Deion Sanders‘ entire WR depth was in shambles because of injuries. Still, the dude goes in, throws 3 touchdowns with the other highest QBR of the season at 93, and almost clutched the game.

“If he has time and he can diagnose what’s going on, he can be surgical in the pocket. I believe that he has a chance to be much better in the NFL than he was, even at Colorado.” This take of Joel Klatt still rings true, and Shedeur’s decision not to throw shouldn’t be something he should get hate for.

He knows what he is worth, and maybe it will take a few games for people to realize that.

Down to 29

Allegedly, as Todd McShay pointed out, 2 different teams had said they “did not care too much what they or the organization felt of him.” This was all after their 15-minute meeting about Shedeur Sanders. Now we knew this “will not throw” decision would spiral out of control and the claims of “brash” and “arrogant” were just the start…

But putting Shedeur Sanders on No. 29 on the Mock Draft list? Aren’t we taking this too far now? We get the “Sanders” hate and marking Shedeur as a “nepo baby,” but hasn’t he already proven his worth? You know what? Sometimes it feels like at the crux of all of this: The problem could be that people want Shedeur Sanders to fail.

What would be more fun to watch than the coveted son of a Hall of Famer failing to leave his mark in the big league? Right? Shedeur has had his problems: From blaming his O-line for the Nebraska loss to the watch flex shenanigans.

Still, you cannot sit there and say that this guy is a bad quarterback.