Much will be made of these two and the comparison to each other. They are the only two quarterbacks that will make a run at being a high first round grade.
Sanders – the son of Deion – millions of followers on social media – half player, half influencer. All of that – I do not care. I’m not against it – I’m not for it. It’s not my job to judge that – I simply want to evaluate who he is and what he does as a quarterback.
Ward – the former Incarnate Word quarterback that leveled up twice and ended his career as a consensus All American and Davey O’Brien Award winner for one of the premiere college programs in the country.
There are similarities to their games. There are stark differences to their games. But after a lengthy and in-depth process – Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders will end up with similar grades. From both winning the Jerry Rice Award (Top FCS Freshman) in consecutive seasons to the 2025 NFL Draft – we may see their names announced back-to-back yet again.
There are five areas of QB evaluation I want to examine to help clear up the comparison if you are a team trying to decide which of these quarterbacks can bring your franchise up from the cellar of the NFL.
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Performance vs Pressure
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Downfield Passing
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Ball Placement and Accuracy
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Potential to be a dual threat
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Leadership in high-leverage situations
There is more to it – but these are the five areas that can break the tie if one exists. Or for some of you – help you realize which one you want.
Vs. Pressure
Cam Ward
Shedeur Sanders
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35% of his drop backs
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70.4% adjusted completion percentage, 8.0 YPA, 19% pressure to sack percentage, 93 NFL passer rating
Simply put, as a passer, Sanders proved to be more effective against pressure when he threw the ball. Both of these guys show toughness and will stare down the barrel of a gun waiting for the right moment to release the ball. One area that Sanders noticeably stands out is the footwork and never-changing release. Those lead to much more reliable ball placements to all levels of the route tree. Ward does have a stronger, sturdier build and he has a way of making defenders slide off him like he’s covered in Vaseline. He does avoid drive-altering sacks at a higher level. But his worst throws and decisions came from being under pressure over and over. His interceptions against Duke, California, and Wake Forest displayed terrible decision making and situational awareness against pressure.
Downfield Passing
Cam Ward
Shedeur Sanders
Looking strictly at the numbers, it is actually amazing how similar these two are. They were both 35 for 75. They both threw for 14 touchdowns. What do I like the most? They do not turn the ball over when they throw it deep, and they both show no fear or hesitation. You’ll hear me go into more depth later on but a theme here is how polished Sanders is in comparison to Ward. The release, tempo, and lower body-upper body cohesion makes me trust Sanders a bit more here right away, but Ward does have more natural ability to make this a real weapon.
Ball Placement and Accuracy
I’m not going to throw any statistics at you, but I will say that the analytic guys we speak with do grade Sanders above Ward when it comes to ball placement and overall accuracy. And I’ll tell you this:
For the entire season, the first thing I said about Sanders in relation to the rest of the class was the fact he is the most accurate thrower. There are significant worries that stem from his tape, but I would actually grade his natural accuracy as one of the best I’ve seen in recent years. Better than Caleb Williams. Better than Drake Maye. Better than Bo Nix.
An issue I have with Ward is everything you do not see when watching the highlight reels. He misses too many layups. He will be the shooter that drains three after three, but then misses the free throws. He is impressive off the tee box, but has far too many three-putts. Sanders' consistency from the feet all the way up to his release gives him the edge here.
Potential to be a Dual Threat
Let’s be clear. Neither of these guys are going to make a lot of game-altering plays with their legs. I’m not sure if either will run at the combine or their respective Pro Days and while I do not consider that much for this position unless it really stands out in either direction, these two are simply average athletes.
Sanders picked up 263 yards on 35 scramble rushing attempts. Ward? 319 yards on 31 attempts. Sanders broke eight tackles, Ward broke 11 on less attempts. We are splitting hairs here when it comes to their ability to impact the game via rushing yards and touchdowns. However, there is one significant edge I will give to Ward; the ability to miss sacks. While you will not see a stat line for this, understand that winning the sack battle in any game gives a 3:1 win advantage for a team. It is one of the biggest correlations to winning you will find. Ward is notably better at evading the pass rush with his combination of feel, quickness, and strength. This is where his dual threat ability shows up the most. Sanders is 15-20 pounds lighter, shows less feel, and does not break tackles as a runner the way Ward does.
Leadership in High Leverage Situations
This comparison will wrap up with a lot of subjectivity and personal preference. This can be a foggy part of the process that never quite becomes clear. The good news? Ward and Sanders appear to have completely different personality styles and leadership values. While both are physically and mentally tough, the contrast between the two as leaders is clear as day.
Sanders has been in the spotlight forever and he is the son of one of the pillars of NFL that made his mark as a player, member of the media, and now as a coach. The colorful and well known, well-respected Deion Sanders anoints Shedeur to the league and its fans.
Ward was off the radar for years. Nobody looked his way in high school. Nobody cared about him much early in his college career. It wasn’t until 2022 where anyone on a national stage really knew who this kid was. He is quiet and softspoken. Prior to the 2024 season, I bet very few would recognize him walking the streets. Sanders, on the other hand, likely has a social media team following him to the grocery store to buy eggs.
Young players raised in the social media boom want to be around Shedeur. Malik Nabers met him in New York City to have a catch in the middle of the street (cameras just happened to be there, crazy). They want the attention. This is an era where touchdown dances and reels are planned ahead of time over and over. Whether you’re cool with it or you’re in the “Get off my lawn” crew is irrelevant. This can be viewed as a culture builder with today’s young players. But the ugly side showed up after the early season loss to Nebraska in a post-game press conference where he blamed his offensive line for their double digit loss. As I said earlier, which personality you want as the face of the franchise will dictate the direction you lean in.
So, there you have it. Two quarterbacks with close grades but different paths to it. Sanders is more polished both on tape and when taking a look at the numbers. Ward seems more. Raw but also earlier on the progression curve. My conclusion after studying each of these guys is this:
Sanders is more of a sure-thing to be a solid quarterback at the next level. Ward has a further way to go but he is also years behind the training path that Sanders has been on his entire life. Are you going for long term projection? Ward is the play. Are you looking for the more likely week one starter in 2025 and probable higher performer right away? Sanders is the play. Most people say they are long-term thinkers, most are not. Be real with what you want, and the pick should be easy.