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BOULDER, Colo. -- Whether you call it a pro day or a showcase, Shedeur Sanders had one goal on Friday at the Buffs indoor practice facility: to impress upon those NFL teams in attendance -- including the Titans, Browns and Giants, the teams picking one, two and three, and all with big needs at quarterback -- that he's one of the best players in this draft class and is worthy of a top-5 selection.

This was the first time I've seen Sanders throw in person. While watching him warm up my immediate takeaway was that he has a quicker release than I saw on tape. He also has a better arm than I thought and he reconfirmed what I had seen countless times over the last two years at Colorado: he layers the ball extremely well on second-level out-breaking routes and he's the best deep-ball thrower in this draft.

Now, with 20 days until the draft, all that's left is the waiting. That, and some private workouts with QB-needy teams picking near the top of the board. But the hay, as the saying goes, is in the barn. And Sanders has done his part. He's probably the toughest player in college football the last two seasons, he helped revitalize a stagnant Colorado program, he consistently made big plays in big moments, and talk to any of his teammates, to a man they will tell you that Sanders is a natural leader. 

No matter how many hits he took in the pocket, he always got back up, got in the huddle and called the next play without pointing fingers or throwing up his hands or showing up his teammates. You never saw the body language you can see from players who can become frustrated when things aren't going their way. And it's that adversity that will serve Sanders well -- and, truthfully, not every player coming into the league had to face in college. 

One of the things you often hear about Sanders is that he's aloof at best, arrogant at worst. And you can talk to people in the league who will tell you that he didn't interview as well as Cam Ward at the combine.  And that certainly might be the case. 

But in listening to Deion Sanders talk about his son, and Shedeur speaking for himself, it's more that the quarterback is guarded with who he lets into his world. He's lived most of his life in the spotlight, a spotlight that can bring people into your orbit who only want something from you. In that light, being wary of strangers and trusting only those closest to you seems like a natural defense mechanism.  Put another way: don't confuse wariness for arrogance. Just listen to his teammates talk about him. Or listen to him talk to former Titans GM and my With the First Pick co-host, Ran Carthon, in a pretty frank conversation following his throwing session:

For now, we wait. And while we do, I'll just say this: if you're a team that needs a quarterback, don't overthink it. Ward is my QB1 and I think the Titans will take him first overall on April 24. The Browns pick second and while Travis Hunter has redefined words like "special" and "transcendent," the one thing he can't do is play quarterback (though I would believe you if you told me he could). Cleveland desperately needs a QB and it would make all the sense in the world to take Sanders. 

Same holds for the Giants at No. 3. Brian Daboll was hired in New York in part because of how much Josh Allen improved when Daboll was the offensive coordinator in Buffalo. And we saw glimpses of that in Year 1, when Daboll got the most out of Daniel Jones. Sanders is a better prospect coming out of college than Jones, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft. If Sanders gets past the Giants, and barring a trade-up, the next logical landing spot is the Saints at No. 9. But if New Orleans doesn't take him, things get interesting. Here are the teams picking 10th through 20th: Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Miami, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Arizona, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Denver. Of those 11 teams, exactly zero need a quarterback. 

But you know who does? The Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21. I'm pretty sure Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin won't overthink it. 

Travis Hunter still finds way to stand out

Look, I don't have a lot to say about Hunter because every week last fall (and the one before that), he did something none of us had ever seen before. He took it up a notch on Friday and he was in shorts and a t-shirt. He's the best athlete I've ever seen not named Deion Sanders, and he made catching passes during Shedeur's throwing session exciting. Hunter did it after only deciding the day before to take part in the workout and he had the smoothest wide-receiver workout I can remember, and all while not wearing gloves. His change of direction, hands, acceleration – all otherworldly, or as Ran put it on our podcast recap, "Travis is an alien."

Get to know Will Sheppard

I talked about Sheppard's standout week of practice at the Shrine Bowl back in January and then he wasn't invited to the combine. It struck me as an oversight at the time. But control what you can and that's what Sheppard did at the Showcase. He measured in at almost 6-foot-3, 196 lbs, brought down the weight room with his 40.5-inch vertical jump and ran a 4.53 40-yard time. And then we got to see a lot of what Sheppard flashed in the fall.

Sheppard is a long strider, but he also has some open-field wiggle that can leave DBs flat-footed. And while he might look like a possession receiver who excels at contested catches and tracking deep balls, he was also used in Colorado's quick game, where he showed the ability to consistently run through arm tackles. 

Sheppard admitted to me after the showcase  that he has a chip on his shoulder because of the combine snub. But he used Friday as an opportunity to show teams that he can line up anywhere on the field, has the explosiveness and hands to be a factor in the league. As his agent, Will Felix III pointed out, if you see some Mike Evans in Sheppard's game that's not a coincidence; Sheppard has been working out with the Buccaneers star and future Hall of Famer.

My comp for Sheppard is former Utah wideout, Devaughn Vele, which is noteworthy because …

Vele went in the seventh round a year ago. Don't be shocked if Sheppard hears his name called much earlier than that.

Don't sleep on Shiloh

Fair or not, Shilo may not be the first Sanders that comes to mind when thinking about this draft class. But he had a good week at the Shrine Bowl following a solid season, and he was one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the Big 12 in 2024. He's better coming downhill than in coverage, but on Friday he looked good in the agility drills and ran a respectable 4.52 40 time. Not only will he have a real chance to make an NFL roster, but he'll likely hear his name called on Day 3 of the draft.