Mel Kiper Reveals True Feelings About Shedeur Sanders After Week 1

The 2024 college football season began with a strong start for the Colorado Buffaloes and quarterback Shedeur Sanders as they defeated the perennial FCS powerhouse, the North Dakota State Bison, with a score of 31-26.

Sanders completed 76.5% of his passes in the game for 445 yards and four touchdowns. ESPN's Mel Kiper expressed his admiration for Sanders' career progression, noting that 15 quarterbacks were ranked ahead of him in high school. Kiper believes that Sanders' performance in the upcoming game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers will significantly impact his NFL draft ranking evaluation.

"That game is important in the evaluation process," Kiper said. "But his toughness, Greenie, he held up last year, got injured late, but an offensive line that was awful. (If) that offensive line improves, Shedeur Sanders will be right up there with Carson Beck vying for that top QB1 spot going into that draft."

Last season, Sanders was sacked more than 50 times, which was the highest in college football. In the game against North Dakota State, he was only sacked once but was hit several times. Nevertheless, he stayed in the game and made some great throws despite taking some heavy hits.

If he can deliver a strong performance this weekend and lead the Buffaloes to an upset victory, it could significantly bolster his case to become the top-ranked quarterback in the 2025 NFL draft.

Related: ESPN Predicts Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders' NFL Draft Landing Spot