If Shedeur Sanders is going to end up with the Raiders, it sounds like it’s going to have to happen with a pick sometime after the no. 6 pick in Thursday’s draft.
Some of the best-connected insiders covering the Raiders have been distancing Shedeur from Las Vegas with the sixth pick and Yahoo and FOX Sports host Jason Fitz was the most recent to say he expects the Raiders to pass on Shedeur with their first-round pick.
“I just I want to be very clear here. I believe Shedeur Sanders will be on the board at [pick] six,” Fitz said on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate. “I believe the Raiders will be on the clock, and I do not believe the Raiders will take him.”
The Raiders, though, aren’t the only team that seems to have soured on Shedeur over the last few months.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero wrote a quarterback column on Tuesday, and the quotes on Shedeur in his writeup were some of the most concerning since the draft process kicked off in January.
Obviously, they are all anonymous, but Pelissero has never been one to stir the pot for clicks.
Do with them what you want, but it definitely sounds like the Raiders are among the teams that have their reservations about Shedeur, as well…
Anonymous Scout:
“There are some flashes of this kid having some understanding of the game, coverages, which gives you some hope. The character stuff is also something that factors. From what I’ve seen at East-West Shrine and combine, there’s definitely some entitlement and special treatment that he expects. There might be some growth with that. The NFL’s still a meritocracy and you have to come in and earn it. It’s a man’s league, and he’s going to have to do it on his own.”
AFC Coordinator:
“The dude’s only played for his dad. When things go wrong, it’s not his fault. He takes a sack, he blames the O-line. He can make the throws. He’s got good accuracy. But does he lock on No. 1 and home in on him? And does the offense tailor for him to read it out?”
NFC Executive:
“You can’t have your dad saying, ‘I’m going to come put a quarterback coach on blast who said you were arrogant.’ So, he can’t be criticized? It seems like his [teammates] like him. They back him, even with all the limelight stuff and going in a different car to the game. It seems like they back him more.”
NFL Scouting Director:
“When you hear all the anecdotal stories about the person, it’s not that he’s a bad kid. He has been so insulated. It’s going to be a culture shock when he really learns how a locker room really operates and how it really works inside a building. He’s had so much input on the offensive game plan and who the coach is, and everything’s been catered to him. When you walk in one of these (NFL) buildings, no one’s going to give a s— about that…”
“No one cares who your dad is. You’re going to have to end up fighting through some adversity. The plays aren’t going to be called to exactly what you want to run. Even last year with Shurmur, a lot of the mistakes he made was stuff that he just decided to call at the line of scrimmage himself, and there’s no recourse of him making those decisions. Whereas, in a real locker room, you make a couple of those decisions, you get your a– ripped so bad that you never want to do it again.”
Assistant Coach:
“The worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life. He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates… But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”
AFC Executive:
“It didn’t go great in our interview. He wants to dictate what he’s going to do and what’s best for him. He makes you feel small.”
AFC Quarterbacks Coach:
“I think he needs to be in a specific system that caters to his skill set, which is getting the ball out quickly. I think he’s got plenty of arm in the short to intermediate parts of the field; he generates pretty good zip. It kind of dies on him down the field. If you can get him to operate in the same mold that you used to see (Drew) Brees operate, which is being able to process what’s happening post-snap and get the ball out quickly and get the ball to the right guys in a timing manner, I think that’s the best approach with him.”
x: @raidersbeat
Rhetoric has reached the level of misinformation. Putting your name on it is bad enough, but the,” Anonymous”, is absolutely pathetic.
I believe that Shedeur skill set wise can be a better than average QB. But I would be real cautious of taking him with the 6th pick. Not because I don’t think he’s worth it but because I ‘m not certain I want the Prime Factor nowhere around my locker room. Nobody knows really how he’s going to perform. He never played for anybody other than his Dad. That’s a huge problem to me. And on top of that I’m not sold on him loving the game of football enough to take him with a high pick.
70% of his completions were check down Charlie passes. Everything over 20 yards was a wobbly duck. And you believe his talent is worth a top ten pick in the NFL?