Shedeur Sanders patting debacle: What is the fuss about before NFL Draft?

A close look at Shedeur Sanders' film from his Pro Day indicates he has a habit of patting the ball before making a pass, a trait that few NFL players have marked as a red flag.

Shedeur Sanders patting debacle: What is the fuss about before NFL Draft?

Shedeur Sanders (Image via IMAGO)

With just 15 days left for the 2025 NFL Draft, the stock of the top 10 players of this draft class has been fluctuating constantly. Shedeur Sanders, the son of NFL great Deion Sanders, was poised to be a top-five pick early on, but in some of the latest predictions, he has slipped out of the top 10.

Despite not having stepped on the field in five months, Sanders’ stock took a dive due to concerns surrounding his athleticism and build. Now, a new snippet has emerged of a habit that many are dubbing to be disastrous for Shedeur Sanders if he fails to mend his ways.

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During Colorado’s Pro Day, Shedeur Sanders was surrounded by a swarm of media, with every camera pointed at him when he was practicing. The problem with media attention of this caliber is that the world can see every little thing and find faults in it. This time, it was Jets’ safety Andre Cisco who took issue with Sanders’ tendency to pat the ball right before he released it.

Ball patting is not a foreign concept in the NFL. In a bid to improve ball stability and ensure better accuracy, some quarterbacks prefer to tap the ball on throws before they throw a pass. Andre Cisco pointed out that this tendency of the Colorado star could cost him dearly in the league. “Boy better stop patting that ball, we break onnat earlyyyy,” Cisco posted on X, warning Sanders of the consequences of patting the ball.

Is it really a red flag that should concern teams? No. The likes of Dan Marino, John Elway, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers are all quarterbacks who had a habit of patting the ball before releasing it. The concern that Shedeur’s release will result in interceptions and deflected passes sounds logical because patting the ball does cost a few milliseconds, leading to higher odds of turning the play over.

But that is hardly the case. New York Giants’ wide receiver Darius Slayton disagreed with Cisco’s post.

I promise he can pat the ball and be just fine if DB’s was so good at breaking on ball pats they’d all have 8+ picks a year. Same guys that fall for a 2 man dagger concept and give up the dig on 3rd&long every season all season talkin bout a ball pat, what a joke.

Darius Slayton replied and dismissed the concerns being expressed by Cisco

Considering Shedeur Sanders may soon be his quarterback, Slayton has already begun defending him from criticism.

NFL players and analysts have conflicted takes over Shedeur Sanders’ ball-patting

Cowboys’ linebacker Micah Parsons came to Cisco’s defense. “You realize a pat on the ball can be the difference between a sack or a throwaway/completion?” Slayton was quick to cite Tom Brady’s example for a quarterback who succeeded despite patting the ball.

To be fair, just because Tom Brady achieved success by patting the ball does not mean that Shedeur Sanders will, too, but until he is allowed to prove otherwise, he should not be critiqued over it.

Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders (Image via Open Source)

It’s part of his natural timing and they’re just blowing it way out of proportion.

NBC’s Chris Simms said it best

From his perspective, as soon as Shedeur caught the snap, he could process it quickly and complete the throw successfully; that is all that matters. Different players have different habits, and Sanders has practiced this motion for years. He is comfortable with it, and more importantly, it works.

We’ve seen QBs with worse mechanics make it in the league because of what they bring mentally and emotionally to the position.

Chris Simms added while defending the Colorado QB

ESPN’s Matt Bowen defended the quarterback’s stance and went as far as to state that he has the best passing mechanics in comparison to the other prospects in the Draft.

When Sanders has the upper and lower halves of his body aligned, he can throw with rhythm and location on dropback and movement schemes. His footwork is clean on shotgun dropbacks, and he has a fluid delivery.

The scout wrote while ranking the top prospects from the 2025 class

The fuss surrounding his stance does raise an interesting question: Does this criticism stem due to the fact that his last name is Sanders or because patting is a legitimate concern?

Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky shared his two cents on this situation.

It matters for some and it doesn’t for others, for the most part, that’s not something to worry about with Sanders.

Dan Orlovsky said

When former NFL quarterbacks themselves acknowledge that his stance and habit of patting the ball is not an issue, there is no reason to believe that there is any merit to the alleged red flags pointed out by Andre Cisco.

Although, visually, the patting may come off as a flaw in his game, there is more than meets the eye here. His numbers in college are adequate to end this argument. Over 50 games, Shedeur threw for 14,000+ yards and 134 passing touchdowns. He finished with a 70.1% completion rate. He is under a microscope as draft day nears, and the expectations from him are sky high. Fortunately, Shedeur Sanders is no stranger to scrutiny.

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