As Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter take pro day stage, NFL Draft decisions loom for Titans, Browns, Giants

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Twenty-one days until the NFL Draft. Zero definitive clarity on what’s going to happen. And stepping into the spotlight again on Friday’s Colorado pro day, two of the main sources of confusion: quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wideout/cornerback Travis Hunter.

For a league that continually tries to engineer and sustain as much draft suspense as possible, the top of this year’s class has been an endless gift to the NFL. So much so, two of the potential top four picks can still dramatically impact the top of the board this week. In some way, even if it’s relatively small this late in the sifting process, that’s the opportunity Sanders and Hunter have on the table in Colorado’s pro day.

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The event is expected to begin at 11 a.m. ET with Sanders’ throwing session and Hunter’s positional workouts determined on site that morning.

For Sanders, it’s continuing to challenge a multitude of perceptions from NFL talent evaluators — some of whom continue to question his arm strength, overall athleticism and size, as well as if he’s fully invested in a process that many across the league see as a job interview. To date, Sanders has brushed off the doubters, pointing to his college success at multiple levels and even going as far as to label the process as being “a lot of hate” at last month’s Big 12 pro day. The same event that Sander’s father and head coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders, suggested that “lies” were being spread by a specific individual on an NFL team.

“The lies, that’s gonna be that,” Deion said in an interview with the NFL Network. “But we’re great with adversity. We’ve always been through adversity. We’ve always been challenged with adversity and the naysaying and the doubting. He is built for that. He’s the most qualified young man that plays that position that’s built for that, and to be in front of the lights and to continuously shine.”

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“We like to call that stuff out, though,” Deion continued, expanding on his belief that lies were being spread about his son during the pre-draft process. “I know who it is. You’re going to make me call him out. You know what team, yeah, all right? You gotta understand it. Don’t make me pull behind the curtains and step in that thing.”

On Friday, “stepping in that thing” is expected to finally come in the form of a public throwing session for Shedeur, who will effectively be closing out the quarterback workout circuit. All of the other potential first-round quarterbacks have already thrown publicly at this point — either at the NFL scouting combine, a pro day or both — including prospective No. 1 overall pick, Miami’s Cam Ward.

Now Shedeur will have his closing argument in front of representatives from all 32 NFL teams. The expectation is that the session will take on a format clapping back against what some evaluators think are holes in his game. So expect throws showcasing his arm strength and velocity, as well as plenty of movement during the session, meant to convey elements of elite athleticism that some believe is not consistently evident on his game tape.

It’s coming at an important moment for Sanders, as multiple league sources are now taking notice of the abundant homework that the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants are doing on deeper tier quarterbacks like Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss, Tyler Shough from Louisville and Quinn Ewers of Texas. While the deeper dive in those organizations doesn’t necessarily raise a red flag about Shadeur’s draft stock, it at least raises a larger conversation about where he would fit in the draft if he ultimately gets beyond the first three picks. As it stands, it’s widely accepted that the Tennessee Titans are expected to take Ward with the first overall pick, then turning Sanders’ draft fate into the hands of the Browns at No. 2 and the Giants at No. 3. Both of those franchises are believed to be seriously weighing taking either Hunter or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.

In that sense, Friday will be equally important for Hunter, who is considered a lock to go inside the first four picks, but continues to have his primary position — or whether he can genuinely start on both offense and defense — debated between the cornerback and wide receiver roles. His pro day work will certainly get logged into that assessment, although how much it will factor beyond his private workouts is up for debate.

This news was originally published on this post .

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