Dan Orlovsky has a four-word message for Shedeur Sanders critics: “The tape don’t lie.”
On Wednesday, the former NFL quarterback-turned-ESPN analyst backed Sanders’ playmaking ability amid ongoing chatter about the polarizing impression the Colorado Buffaloes product made last week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
In a roughly four-minute video posted to X, Orlovsky dissected Sanders’ play in a September win over Baylor, when he completed 25 of 41 throws for 341 yards and two touchdowns, emphasizing how swiftly his protection disappears.
“So much conversation coming out of the combine about Shedeur and the slide and the drop,” Orlovsky, 41, began. “Alright, so, you’re out of your mind if you think Shedeur can’t play. The tape, sometimes, is such a difficult evaluation because so often clips look like this.”
The clip focused on Sanders escaping the pocket under pressure and trying to make magic happen with mixed results.
Orlovsky concluded the video: “Don’t listen to the noise.”
Sanders, the 23-year-old son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, is regarded as one of the top quarterback prospects of the 2025 NFL Draft, along with Miami’s Cam Ward, in what’s considered a lukewarm class.
Although both signal-callers attended the combine, Sanders appeared to irk some over his comments about transforming collegiate programs.
“We went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back-to-back,” said Sanders, who has played for Deion at both stops.
“You don’t think I could come to an NFL franchise and change a program again? It’s history, we’ve done it again. It’s always going to repeat itself.”
NFL insider Peter Schrager has since elaborated why the remarks “rubbed people wrong.”
“His point at the combine, and it rubbed people wrong, the way he had some bravado at it, is that he changes places when he gets there,” Schrager said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
“So Jackson State, obviously, went from this HBCU that had no resources to suddenly being a national name. And then he goes to Colorado and we had one week where ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ from Fox and ‘GameDay’ were there, Week 2, vying for real estate in Boulder. It happens.”
Sanders completed 74 percent of his passes last season, throwing for 4.134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The 2025 NFL Draft begins April 24. Three quarterback-needy teams — the Titans, Browns and Giants — hold the top three picks, respectively.
