Shedeur Sanders threw in front of personnel from all 32 NFL teams at the Colorado Buffaloes' pro day on Friday, and for the most part, the session went well. Sanders completed 62 of his 67 passes attempts—with three of those five incompletions coming in the form of drops—and got to show his ability to throw the deep ball.
After the pro day, one criticism of Sanders's performance that emerged was the amount of times Sanders tapped the football before releasing it. This was even pointed out by New York Jets safety Andre Cisco, who posted on X about Sanders: "Boy better stop patting that ball, we breakin onnat earlyyyy."
In the wake of these criticisms, New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton spoke up for Sanders and downplayed his patting of the football.
"I promise he can pat the ball and be just fine if DB’s was so good at breaking on ball pats they’d all have 8+ picks a year," Slayton wrote on X. "Same guys that fall for a 2 man dagger concept and give up the dig on 3rd&long every season all season long talkin bout a ball pat what a joke."
😂😂I promise he can pat the ball and be just fine if DB’s was so good at breaking on ball pats they’d all have 8+ picks a year. Same guys that fall for a 2 man dagger concept and give up the dig on 3rd&long every season all season long talkin bout a ball pat what a joke😂 https://t.co/8EmvJSPIjP
— Darius Slayton (@Young_Slay2) April 5, 2025
In a similar post, seemingly responding to Cisco, Slayton added: "There’s these large fellows called lineman who are in between line of sight so if a QB isn’t 6’4-6’5+ you lose them behind the OL all the time so if i can’t see the QB throw it to me how in the Flying Dutchman is a DB gonna see him pat it BEFORE he throws it."
Slayton's defense of Sanders is especially interesting since the Giants hold the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft. Though the Giants recently signed quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, they still could take Sanders if they really like him as a prospect. After all, Winston and Wilson aren't necessarily long-term answers at the position.
If the Giants do decide to take Sanders and bring in another quarterback to their crowded room, Sanders should already find a supportive receiving core in Slayton and Malik Nabers.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Giants WR Defends Shedeur Sanders From Criticism Over Pro Day Performance.
