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The former Pittsburgh Steelers, whose return of Meryl Hooge, was ahead of most critics in his criticism of Shedur Sanders and his predictions for the future of the former Colorado quarterback.
Sanders was predicted to be second overall in the NFL Draft, but his epic collapse into the fifth round became the talk of the event. The Cleveland Browns have decided to draft him in the end, even after previously picking quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
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Colorado Buffalo quarterback Shedure Sanders, #2, is preparing to pass the ball in the second half against the North Dakota State Bison in Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado on August 29, 2024. (Ron Chenoy-Usa Today Sports)
Hoge shared Sanders' opinion a few days before the draft began with an interview with Pittsburgh's WDVE.
“The best way to sum up him is I think he's a really good college quarterback,” Hoge explained. “His accuracy is good, his processing is good. And when I say good, I use a scale of 1 to 10. So if you're five in college, is it OK?
Furthermore, Hoge had problems with Sanders' allegedly inflated numbers. The Buffalo star has the highest record in FBS history with a completion rate of 71.8%, but Hoge rejected it when Sanders threw many bubble screens.
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Chedure Sanders, #2, celebrates after beating the Arizona Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium, home to the ASU Sun Devils. (Mark J. Rebilas-Usa Today Sports)
He did not believe that using these types of plays would be translated in the NFL. He said the team is looking for the skill sets people like Joe Burrow, CJ Stroud and Jayden Daniels have.
“He's not even close. He's not even in the ballpark. …He has some toughnesses that I like, but he's not going to scare anyone about how he's moving,” Hoge said.
“He can't deal with the expectations that his way is coming,” he added. “He's going to be an epic failure and he's going to bring your organization back to another two or three years.”
These expectations settled a bit after he fell into the fifth round. However, Sanders is in a position to win a starting job at camp as he is not set to a stone that Kenny Pickett or Joe Flaco will become QB1 when the season begins.
Gabriel is the best leader in touchdown passes ever at the FBS level, but was also selected later in the draft.
Colorado quarterback Shedur Sanders will speak at a press conference at the NFL Football Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Friday, February 28th, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
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The spotlight shines brightly at Browns quarterback through spontaneous training and training camp.
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