Shilo Sanders has been making headlines lately, but they have had nothing to do with his potential future in the NFL. Being the son of Deion Sanders, one of the greatest NFL players – not to mention one of the most versatile athletes ever – the Buffs safety has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. He may have had Coach Prime’s support and admiration when he appeared in the Starz crime drama BMF, playing a young Deion Sanders, but can his football skills render the same type of appreciation? Well, it doesn’t look like it.

When you think about the Colorado Buffaloes, two of the first names that would likely come up would be Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. They have solid confidence in entering the 2025 NFL Draft, with some analysts even predicting that they’ll be the top players in their class. However, the same can’t be said for Shilo Sanders despite the Coach Prime connection. In fact, even before his final college football season started, his NFL future has been put in question.

In an episode of the DNVR Buffs Podcast from Thursday, Jake Schwanitz, Ryan Koenigsberg, and Andre Simone discussed the Buffs players’ NFL eligibility. To make things more fun, they compared the 8 Buffs entering the 2025 Draft to NFL players. Simone said, “Nowadays, you can just tack on more eligibility. Technically, none of these guys might have to go to the NFL.” And the conversation turned to players who are “just meant to be college football players.” Jake pitched in and said, “Shilo could play into his 40s potentially.”

Following the statement, Simone added, “Maybe that is what we need as a sport: to identify the players who are just meant to be college football players.” That’s not the case, though. Shilo Sanders was part of the 2019 recruiting class. With NFL rules that state that a prospect becomes eligible for the Draft three years after leaving high school, Shilo could’ve entered it in 2022. But he didn’t. And now, set to start his sixth year as a college football player, this is his last year of eligibility. Seeing how crucial this year would be for him, it looks like it’s not off to the best start.

On May 1, sources told BuffsBeat that Shilo Sanders underwent shoulder surgery and is expected to be out for at least six months. That would mean he’s likely to miss at least two months at the beginning of the Buffs’ 2024-24 campaign. This could very well limit the safety’s chances of faring well in the 2025 Draft. But that’s not all. In a conversation with The Denver Post, NFL scout Dave Syvertsen opined, “The bankruptcy and the fact that he has been playing under his father with the last two programs has not [helped].”

A 2015 incident that allegedly led to Shilo attacking a security official in his high school led to a lawsuit being filed against him in 2016. 7 years later, in 2022, the court awarded the security official $11.89 million in damages, which Shilo hasn’t paid yet. As someone with an NIL valuation of $1.1 million, it was weird when he declared bankruptcy last October. But he did, and now, with lawyers and court officials closely investigating him, Syvertsen believes this negative publicity isn’t helping his case for the Draft. 

Additionally, after playing at South Carolina and Jackson State (under his father as the head coach), the Buffs safety’s best season came in 2023, where he amassed 67 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, and 1 interception. Considering this, Syvertsen added, “He does not grade out athletically at an extremely high level. He’s going to be an older rookie.” The hosts of the DNVR Buffs Podcast had a different take, though.

Simone said, “What’s interesting about Shilo is that he’s got the size, he’s got the physicality, he’s got that hard-hitting. And then he’s got that speed element to him.” Since this was a segment about NFL comparisons, their conclusion was Kareem Jackson. Adding on to the 24-year-old’s assets, Simone continued, “He plays way bigger than he is: 6’, 195 [pounds]. You could’ve told me he’s 6’2 “, 22o [pounds], and I would’ve believed that.” Although Sanders carries himself as a 220-pounder and has even verbally threatened opponents because of this, it’s not always worked out in his favor.

Last season, before the Buffaloes’ September 23 game against the Oregon Ducks, Shilo Sanders trash-talked his opponents, threatening to beat them and their head coach, Dan Lanning, up. Fast forward to the end of the game, and Sanders was in the hospital after taking a brutal hit. What was worse was the Ducks’ blowout 42-6 win over the Buffs. Instances like this make analysts question whether or not the elder Sanders brother is fit for the NFL. Is he, or is his future in the league truly a laughing matter?

At the end of the day, making it to the NFL is not just about a prospect’s level of skill or ability on the gridiron. Considering this…

Is Shilo Sanders good for the NFL?

Unlike his quarterback brother, Shedeur Sanders, who is a top draft prospect with the best betting odds to be the No. 1 overall pick, Shilo Sanders hasn’t found himself seen as a prospect yet. 2023 had been tough for the Colorado Buffs, who fell 4-8. But Shilo Sanders showed his capabilities in the 43-35 win against CSU, where he secured an interception and a forced fumble, earning the title of Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. 

Shilo Sanders’ strength and aggressiveness on the field can be a valuable weapon to give trouble to the opponents. As the self-proclaimed CEO of Headache Gang previously said, “When I see a dude, I want to go full speed and actually hit you… When I do what I do, I make head hurt.” But as mentioned earlier, showing promise on the gridiron isn’t all that matters. Given his declaration of bankruptcy and all the off-court talks surrounding him, Dave Syvertsen feels the 24-year-old is going to “fight a very uphill battle against the entire pre-draft process.”

“The off-field concerns can easily kind of push him off a lot of teams’ boards. Because maturity is a bigger deal to some teams than others,” he added. As he’s also linked to the Sanders name, the senior draft analyst mentioned how Shilo can’t keep banking on the family name. “If a guy that hasn’t done anything without his dad around comes in and thinks that he’s entitled to anything beyond what a normal rookie would be, that’s the quickest route to breaking up a culture-slash-locker room.”

That’s what the NFL is about. Finding your own path. That said, Shilo Sanders’ performance this season will be crucial in determining his future in the league. Can he hold his own in 2024?