“He’s practice squad-level talent with a Hall of Fame last name..I am advising teams not to select him in rounds 1-7 in the 2025 NFL draft.” Those were the remarks of former NFL scout Daniel Kelly, who apparently didn’t see anything NFL worthy from Shedeur Sanders in his Pro Day. Sanders, who led college football with a 74% pass completion in 2024, is still touted as a first-rounder. But in Kelly’s books, Sanders is a practice squad level at best. Actually, those are not the only comments Kelly had about Sanders. He seemingly exposed Colorado’s star QB for bending his plays just to leave a strong impression with the whole league watching.

Kelly, in his controversial report about Sanders, wrote, “I find it VERY interesting that Shedeur Sanders “dirted” his final play of his Pro Day in the 2-Minute Drill instead of making the high pressure throw to the end-zone and risking missing it as his lasting impression.” Sanders and his Colorado receivers did attempt a two-minute drill. But they weren’t able to cover the whole length of the field. Maybe after seeing Sanders fail to do so, Kelly called him for not taking that risk, which a QB should at least of his caliber.

Kelly also tried to link his inability to throw those deep passes with the number of sacks he took in Colorado. “This is also why he took some of his sacks (and yardage losses for his team). Instead of throwing the football away at Colorado the past two seasons,” Kelly claimed. Well, those 94 sacks he took in his two seasons with the Buffaloes do make Kelly’s point stand out. But considering the history of Kelly’s evaluation of Sanders. He seems to have a personal vendetta against him.

When Shedeur’s father, Deion, was giving his insight on where his son could end up in the NFL, “I know where his heart is. I know where he wants to go.” Kelly gave his thoughts, claiming, “Shedeur Sanders is an undraftable free agent value in the 2025 NFL draft.” Seeing how Kelly has kept on undermining Sanders’ potential, he was never going to praise him anyway. And he did exactly what was expected from him.

On his Pro Day impressions about Shedeur Sanders, Kelly only gave average reviews on the potential first-rounder.

Average at best—Daniel Kelly’s claim on Shedeur Sanders

See, Sanders completed 62 of 67 passes on his Pro Day. He occasionally showed off his deep throw capabilities. And obviously carried that precision of accurate passes, which is his biggest attribute. But Kelly was still not impressed, as usual. He wrote down three impressions to make Sanders look like a weak prospect, even lower than other QBs available. Kelly’s first impression was that Sanders had “Average overall looking “arm strength.” Further adding, “He “flashed” having “decent” arm strength on a few of his underneath throws, but he clearly lacks “arm confidence” and the confidence in himself to drive the ball. 

Top Comment by billeeG

he will call his ‘daddy’ if you don’t let him do it his way…… then he is going to pout...more

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Well, surprisingly, whatever Kelly said about Sanders isn’t only coming from his mouth. Jeff Howe’s report on The Athletic read, “There were some wobbly throws on some shorter routes. And his arm strength has been described by league evaluators as good but not great,” referencing Sanders’ Pro Day. Not having that arm strength could make it difficult for Sanders to play in wintry conditions. During the latter end of the NFL seasons, teams often have to play in a blizzard or a snow-capped gridiron.

Now, Kelly also gave two more of his impressions after watching Sanders closely. “Average location placement overall. And Pats the football pre-delivery which telegraphs to defensive backs when and where he’s throwing,” Kelly explained. He summarised his thoughts about Sanders, saying, “There was nothing and I mean nothing special, elite or dominant looking at his Pro Day..He mostly made short throws and put too much air under his deep throws.” 

So, the real question right now is Kelly’s evaluation tank Shedeur Sanders stock—if it wasn’t already tanking. Well, the only way to find out is to wait for the NFL draft. Only April 24th has all the answers about Sanders’ real value in the NFL. Now, wherever he does land, surely he ain’t a practice squad player like Kelly claimed, right?