By Tobias Bass, Nick Baumgardner, Dane Brugler and Austin Mock

Former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders said Saturday he has not yet decided whether he will throw at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis next month but is confident that he will be the top pick in this year’s draft.

Sanders told reporters at the East-West Shrine Bowl in Arlington, Texas, that he met with the Tennessee Titans for 45 minutes, as well as the New York Giants. He also met with the Cleveland Browns, according to multiple reports. All three teams hold the top three picks in the draft.

“I like that I’m able to get in the forefront of everything and they’re able to understand me and ask me whatever questions they want,” Sanders said. “I’m not ducking. I ain’t hiding. I’m right here, live in the flesh, able to answer whatever questions are out there.”

Sanders said his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, called him several times to check in during the quarterback’s interview with the Titans.

“He kept calling me,” Sanders said. “I told him at the end, it’s over with. I have to soar on my own.”

Although Sanders is attending the Shrine Bowl, he is not expected to participate in practices or Thursday’s game.

This year’s draft class is relatively weak compared to others in recent memory, but throwing at the combine could help Sanders earn his desired spot as the No. 1 pick.

How Sanders is handling pre-draft process

Whatever Sanders’ reasoning was for sitting out Shrine Bowl week a day after meeting with the three teams who hold the first three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, it’s a bold presumption if nothing else. Fellow QB1 hopeful Cam Ward will also skip the Shrine and the Senior Bowl. Though it’s fair to mention that Ward never committed to either the Shrine or Senior Bowl this winter either. Sanders did. Then he didn’t.

Either way, at this point it feels like Sanders and Ward — who know they’re the two best quarterback prospects in an otherwise flawed draft class — might play chicken alongside each other regarding how much they show at all in the pre-draft process. If one says he’s not throwing in Indianapolis, then it’d be a surprise to see the other say he is throwing. No other QB sat out the Shrine this week and all Senior Bowl QBs — including Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, who just played in the national title game — are expected to be participants on some level.

While it’s true that both Sanders and Ward are the two best quarterback prospects in this draft, neither has done remotely close to enough to give NFL teams great anti-bust comfort on either player. There are considerable dice rolls with each, as both come with major questions, including the level of competition they saw in college, which was relatively low on both counts. You can appreciate Sanders’ confidence. But, frankly, there is no such thing as a guaranteed risk in the NFL. No matter who your dad is. — Nick Baumgardner, NFL Draft writer

A potential missed opportunity at NFL Combine

No NFL team is going to move a quarterback up or down their board based on the decision to throw or not at the Combine. But choosing not to throw could be a missed opportunity.

There are several teams in the top-10 picks who need a quarterback and selling yourself throughout the process is the key. Sanders will do that in interviews, but several teams are hoping to see him sling it in Indianapolis. — Dane Brugler, NFL Draft writer

Another case for Sanders throwing in Indy

Sanders is a Top-2 quarterback in this year’s draft class by our consensus board but relative to other years, it’s a weak class at the position. I think he would benefit from showing off his arm talent in Indianapolis as there is a decent drop-off to the third-best prospect in this class.

For me, the potential outweighs the risk for Sanders at the NFL Combine. — Austin Mock, NFL staff writer

Required reading

(Photo: Andrew Wevers / Getty Images)