"Surgical and accurate": $4.8m NIL-valued Shedeur Sanders gets compared to top AFC QB despite 2023 struggles

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders received quite a bit of praise from ESPN's Matt Miller.

Sanders had an up-and-down season in 2023 for the Buffaloes. At the beginning of the year, he was one of the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy. Yet, in the second half, Sanders struggled and decided to return to college in 2024.

Although Sanders, who has a $4.8 million NIL valuation, could have declared for the draft, he decided to remain in Colorado. When he does enter the draft next season, Miller believes Sanders is comparable to Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.

“He’s so surgical and accurate, and the touch passes are there, and he’s poised, like Tua," Miller said, via TheSportsnaut. "He’s not exceptionally mobile, but he’s gonna give you something.

"I think Shedeur’s probably a better runner just because he doesn’t have the injury history of a Tua right now. But I can’t think of a player I’ve been more impressed by this season. I love watching Shedeur Sanders play.”

It is an interesting comparison as Tua Tagovailoa has been a solid quarterback in the NFL. But Miller believes the two play a similar game, and if Sanders can be like Tagovailoa in the NFL, it would be a successful career for the Colorado Buffaloes play-caller.

Shedeur Sanders returns to Colorado

Despite Shedeur Sanders likely being selected in the 2024 NFL draft, he decided to return to Colorado to boost up his draft stock even further.

Sanders could be a first-round pick in 2025 depending on this season, but according to his dad and coach Deion Sanders, they thought another season in college would be good for him.

“It’s up to us,” Deion said in an interview with USA Today. “We do things as a family, and my sons respect the heck out of me and my decision-making and getting them to where they desire to go.

"...It’s always been our dream that they’re going into the draft together, and we didn’t know how that would manifest itself with (the COVID-19 pandemic) and everything. It just so happened properly that they’re going in the same draft at the conclusion of next season.”

As Sanders says, Shedeur and his brother Shilo will both declare for the 2025 NFL draft and enter the pro ranks together.

Last season, Shedeur Sanders went 298-for-430 for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions.