Pat Shurmur Predicted to Protect “Under Duress” Shedeur Sanders as Colorado QB’s Ghosts of the Past Remain an Issue

“A big year for Shedeur Sanders.” What Andy Staples mentioned on On3 on August 1 about Shedeur Sanders is nothing but the truth. The 2024 season is building up as the year of redemption for Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders. 2023 marked Shedeur as the most sacked quarterback, exposing his biggest weakness of surviving in the pocket — something even Coach Prime acknowledged during an interview with ESPN. However, Shedeur Sanders is still a No. 1 quarterback who can easily drive the ball downfield.

However, NFL analyst Greg Cosell has a different opinion. On the Ross Tucker Podcast on August 3, Cosell presents his assessment of Shedeur. “I wouldn’t call him a playmaker. But Pat Shurmur will focus on protection and that’s critical because he was under such duress last year,” Cosell mentioned. Looks like there’s gonna be a lot of eyes on Shedeur this year. While Deion Sanders has revamped the team’s O-line and brought along Pat Shurmur to act as the offensive coordinator for the Buffs, it will all boil down to Shedeur still repeating his past mistakes. On August 2, Brian Howell mentioned Shedeur was finally in good hands. “I think that you know Pat Shurmur that’s going to be a big part of his offense is you’ve got to run the football,” he had mentioned. This makes it feel like Deion Sanders is directly taking a page out of Jim Harbaugh’s playbook. Even during an interview, Coach Flea had mentioned that this year, “We’re going to run the football.” This is reminiscent of a style Harbaugh was always famous for bringing into the Wolverines and getting them a cup.

During the fall camp, Shurmur also praised Shedeur and the boys highly. “I feel like we’re coming together as a team,” Shurmur had mentioned. These changes are something that Coach Prime should’ve made last year itself. Matt McChesney put it perfectly when he explained that if Shedeur Sanders doesn’t have to do everything on the field, he can get up and do anything. This is quite true because if we look at 2023 stats, Shedeur had 31 touchdowns and 3200+ yards under his belt. He also had a completion rate of 69%. Aaron Torres explained it perfectly: “If that is an overrated season, I think every QB in America would love to have that down season.” Shedeur has the skills; with Shurmur’s help, he can survive in the pockets. However, one major question remains: which team Shedeur would make his way to post-2023?

Search for a new home

While many Buffs and Coach Prime fans have already assumed that Shedeur Sanders could end up with the Raiders, things can still change. Raiders HC Antonio Pierce and Deion Sanders indeed share a good bond, a fact that became very evident when Coach Prime went to praise Pierce during Media Days. Deion even said that his sons would love to play for AP. However, on the other hand, Pro Football Network thinks differently.

In a mock draft list, James Fragoza from PFN mentioned that Shedeur would be the perfect fit for the Giants. Fragoza explains that Shedeur can become “one of the best QB prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.” Still, only time will tell where the young quarterback will finally head. Let’s hope the 2024 season finally becomes a turning point for Shedeur Sanders.