Shilo Sanders, the standout Colorado safety, has missed the opportunity to impress the NFL head coaches at the scouting combine later this month. The list of the 329 players who were handed an invitation doesn’t include Coach Prime’s son anywhere. Of course, it didn’t come as a surprise, as he suffered multiple injuries in 2024, leading to an on-and-off season. But it’s certainly a blow for the kid who is gearing up to take the next step as a pro alongside his brother Shedeur, albeit at a very different moment.

But guess what? It’s not the end of the world for Shilo. Rather, it can give a compelling storyline, a source of motivation for future stars, and a lesson that they should not give up, no matter how the situational storm treats them sometimes.

Colorado alum Matt McChesney sees a light at the end of the tunnel regarding the Shilo Sanders update. It doesn’t always make a good narrative to just go and win it all in a seamless battle for the Marvel superheroes. Rather, the readers love challenges. They love the thrill of swinging back from the near-death ride and turning the wheel for good. The same goes for the athletes. Elaborating a fairytale hypothesis, Matt noted, ”He does, yeah, go six seventh-rounder, undrafted and then use that as fuel and fire to go (f___ g) tear up your opportunity and go play for 10 years, then just be like, ‘Yeah my brother went first pick overall, I went undrafted, I played for 10 years, he played for 12 years, like our dad is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.’ That’d be pretty cool to me.”

Former Buffs running back Phillip Lindsay didn’t grab an NFL combine invite either and went undrafted, but he made a mark as the starting RB job and a Pro Bowl appearance in his first season with the Broncos. So, it doesn’t matter that much. ”So look, just because he’s not going to the combine, I really, I really don’t give a [s__ t]. I think the combine’s there to wear Olympics, bro; like, the offensive lineman shouldn’t have to go to the combine,” the insider gave more solid reasons to Shilo to keep his chin up.

”I don’t give an [s__t] about 40 you run, I care about your bench presses, your injury report, and if you’re flexible. I can watch the tape and figure out if you can play.” Matt continued to lift the pressure off from the young Colorado’s safety.

To steadfast faith in the 25-year-old, you can take a look at some more bright names in the NFL mix who started as a pretty late pick during the draft and missed the combine event. Adam Thielen, the star wide receiver who has had multiple 1000-yard seasons with the Vikings, also didn’t bag an invitation to perform at the 2013 NFL Combine. Still, he played and initially became a part of the Vikings’ roster as a tryout player before emerging as one of the league’s top receivers of all time.

James Harrison, a two-time Super Bowl champion linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers, also couldn’t make it to the Combine despite a standout college career at Kent State. There is more to the list, and Shilo can be a generational addition to it if he works on the issues that made him incompetent for the lofty NFL evaluation process.

Shilo Sanders’s 2024 season at Boulder should be a strong wake-up call 

Sure, Shilo can turn the page of his career in the next two to three years and can live up to his father’s last name, but as far as his Colorado performance is concerned, it needs some serious survey and rework.

Host of the daily Locked on Buffs show, Kevin Borba, took a deep look at the NFL’s decision to pay zero heed to Coach Prime’s youngest son’s achievement at Boulder. In assessing his downfall, Borba dragged out both injuries and huge inconsistencies in performance as the culprit behind the NFL blow.

“…Still have a chance at Colorado pro day, at the Big 12 pro day… I don’t think Shilo Sanders had the season that NFL teams would’ve liked to have seen this past year… This past year, he was injured, and clearly, when he came back, I think it affected his play, I think it affected his performance.” Kevin Borb, the renowned CFB analyst, cut in.

Last but not least. Shilo’s privileged spot on the Buffs roster, despite the average performance, sparked the controversy pointing to nepotism. His selfish demeanor during the Alamo Bowl also jeopardized his overall goodwill inside and beyond the team.

But as they say, every great thing has an edgy start; we hope Shilo Sanders can do better and rise above all the polemics his way.