Last week, the Tennessee Titans sent a contingent of executives to the East-West Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas.
The biggest talk of the week is the conversations between Titans’ brass and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Sanders is one of the top draft prospects in 2025 and is expected to be in consideration for the Titans’ number one pick.
The Titans began their evaluation process in Texas, and Brian Callahan told ESPN there are three things he looks for in a quarterback: decision-making, timing, and accuracy. When explaining why those three things are important, Callahan compared Sanders to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
“People had questions about Burrow’s arm strength in general coming out,” Callahan said. “One of the things that makes Joe so unique, and I think you can probably put Shedeur in the same conversation. … They anticipate when they throw it, they have the timing and accuracy on top of it. That makes up for the arm strength.
“Those things are how you make up for maybe not having the biggest arm. If you’re throwing on time and putting a ball when and where you’re supposed to go, you’re not going to have too many problems.”
Being compared to Joe Burrow, who is currently one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, is high praise for an incoming prospect. Burrow wasn’t expected to have immediate success when the Bengals drafted him, but he broke a few rookie single-game records before injuring his knee and ending his rookie season early. Since then, Burrow is consistently one of the top-performing quarterbacks each year in the NFL.
Sanders’ arm strength isn’t necessarily in question, but his decision-making is. He is accurate and can time his throws well, but only when he’s not holding on to the ball too long. He has a tendency to take unnecessary sacks, which is something he can’t afford to do in the NFL. However, that is an area that is coachable, so if Callahan and Borgonzi think he’s got enough of what it takes, Sanders will likely remain on their board of potential candidates for the top pick in the 2025 NFL draft.