As the NFL Draft draws near, some players will receive greater praise, while others will be hit with more frequent and harsher criticism. Shedeur Sanders would appear to be a part of the latter category.

The Colorado quarterback has always had his fair share of critics, particularly when the Buffaloes struggled in 2023. However, it has been a near consensus that Sanders is either the best or second-best quarterback in the 2025 draft class.

Despite that, NFL reporter Albert Breer said a coach raised concerns about Sanders's mechanics and said Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart may actually be the better pick than Sanders. Joel Klatt, a former Colorado QB himself, is not buying the Dart-over-Sanders analysis, though.

“I, respectfully, disagree with that real chatter, and I would categorize it as fake chatter,” Klatt said on ‘Up & Adams' of talks of Dart going ahead of Sanders. “There is a decent gap between the top two quarterbacks and where Jaxson Dart is. Not to take anything away from Jaxson Dart; I really love him as a leader. He's going to succeed in the National Football League, I truly believe that, but it's way harder to project because of his offense.”

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While Klatt said Dart will face a learning curve adjusting to the NFL as a result of playing in a quarterback-friendly offense at Ole Miss, he praised Sanders, saying that the QB, not head coach Deion Sanders nor Heisman winner Travis Hunter, was the “key” to Colorado's turnaround.

The year before the Sanders family and Hunter arrived in Boulder, the Buffaloes won just one game. In 2023, Colorado won its first three games of the season and rocketed up as far as No. 18 in the AP poll. The Buffaloes would come back down to Earth, however, and lose eight of their final nine games. This past season, Shedeur's senior year, he improved his efficiency and led Colorado to a 9-4 record, which is the most wins the program has had in a single season since 2016.

Sanders, regardless of the Dart buzz, will almost certainly be the second quarterback taken off of the board in the NFL Draft, behind Miami's Cam Ward, who is projected to go first overall to the Tennessee Titans. Sanders has been linked to multiple teams throughout the draft process, but the New Orleans Saints, who may be without Derek Carr for the entire season, seem primed to take Sanders at No. 9.

The NFL Draft will begin from Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24.