Shedeur Sanders isn’t just making waves because of his famous last name; the kid’s got game. Take his debut season for the Buffaloes, for instance. Dude torched TCU with 510 yards in his debut. And by the time his final season wrapped up, he stacked up numbers like it’s Madden franchise mode—4,000+ yards, 37 touchdowns, 74% completion. BUT! We just can’t ignore the elephant in the room.

Sanders is one of the top prospects in this year’s class, no doubt. But let’s be real—his game wasn’t all clean—at least, that’s what the former NFL QB and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovosky believes. Why? Simple: half the season, his O-line folded faster than lawn chairs, and most of his throws were little checkdowns.

According to Orlovsky, that’s the hardest issue with Sanders. On Friday, Orlovsky talked about how hard it is to evaluate Sanders on Get up, saying, “He’s (Shedeur) the hardest quarterback I’ve had to evaluate since I’ve gotten into TV.” The reason? Well, Orlovsky believes that half of the QB’s passes are super short, like under 5 yards—think screen passes, dump-offs, or checkdowns.

“75% of his snaps don’t matter, and that’s the reality for everybody that’s evaluating Shedeur Sanders,” he said. “Half of the snaps that he had at Colorado are thrown inside of five yards. It feels like when you watch his tape, every ball is thrown at the line of scrimmage.” That’s a thing worth noting if we’re being real.

Because let’s be real—considering 75% of his snaps are under 5 yards, how’s it going to tell much about his arm strength, decision-making, or ability to read defenses, which, if we’re not wrong, are key things NFL scouts look for. So that chunk of plays? Well, you gotta throw them out if you’re evaluating his real potential. But what’s the main reason behind this “hardest” issue? Oh, that’s where things get pretty interesting.

It’s Colorado’s offensive line. Put it this way: during his 2023 season in Colorado, Sanders was sacked 52 times. And that’s the most sacks taken by any FBS QB—yep, more than anyone else in the nation. To make things worse, the Buffaloes’ O-line ranked among the bottom 5 in pass-blocking efficiency, per Pro Football Focus. Guess the QB was running for his life throughout the season.

The O-line was that poor, even Coach Prime had to call it out. “The big picture is we need to beef up the offensive line,” Deion Sanders said after Shedeur was sacked seven times in one game against UCLA. The catch? Well, the poor O-line was one of the major issues why it is hard to evaluate Shedaur. “The offensive protection was so terrible that I don’t care if you have Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes,” Orlovsky continued. “You’re not doing anything with that either.”

Indeed! If Shedeur had a terrible offensive protection, then again, those plays don’t help the NFL scouts to judge how good Shedeur really is. The moral of the story? 75% of his snaps are super short. The offensive protection is terrible. That means there isn’t much to evaluate Sanders’ gameplay. That’s what Dan Orlovsky believes is the hardest issue to evaluate a QB.

No wonder Brian Daboll and the Giants might ditch their plans to draft him later this month.

Brian Daboll remains absent from Shedeur Sanders’ Pro Day

Looks like Brian Daboll and the Giants are no more interested in a franchise QB. Why? After signing Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, the head coach is kinda invisible. We’re talking the Pro Day for draft prospects, folks. While the NFL world is heading to Boulder for Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter’s Pro Day, it seems Daboll would be one of the absentees. Once Again. Yeah, he didn’t go to Cam Ward’s Pro Day either.

But that’s understandable. I mean, the Tennessee Titans are the owners of the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, and it’s likely they’re going to use it on Cam Ward. But what about the Giants? Aren’t they in dire need of a franchise QB? And the rumor mill was buzzing that the Giants were going to draft Sanders with their No. 3 pick.

Now, Daboll’s absence from Pro Days is gaining attention. And ESPN insiders Dan Graziano and Mike Tannenbaum are no strangers to that. “The Giants have a large contingent there, notably absent is head coach Brian Daboll, who said he’s not big on Pro Days, he prefers the private workout and the Giants are hoping to set up a private workout with Shedeur Sanders next week as well,” Graziano said after pointing out that the Browns (who have No. 2 pick) are already at Boulder.

See, if the Giants want to draft Sanders, then they’re surely hoping that Cleveland drafts either Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter with their No. 2 overall pick. However, Tannenbaum believes that the Daboll and the Giants are already out on Sanders. “The headline is Brian Daboll is not there. They are not going to take Shedeur Sanders at 3 without their head coach being there,” Tannenbaum said.

But still, the HC’s absence isn’t making any sense. I mean, if they don’t want to draft Sanders at No. 3, they could draft Hunder, right? But nope. Just like Ward’s Pro Day, Daboll decided to skip Colorado’s Pro Day as well. That means the Giants’ pursuit of a franchise QB is still up in the air.