J.T. O’Sullivan takes a disciplined approach to his study of incoming NFL draftees.
The former NFL quarterback lets the player’s college game film speak to him. Everything else, he tunes out.
Like the no-frills bartender in a 1940s Jimmy Stewart movie — “Look, mister, we serve hard drinks in here for men who want to get drunk fast, and we don’t need any characters around to give the t ‘atmosphere’. Is that clear, or do I have to slip you my left for a convincer?” — the Coronado resident and former Patrick Henry High School coach maintains a pared-down approach.
He doesn’t concern himself with a player’s intangibles or injury history. Or his incompatibility with a particular NFL team. Nor do statistics or medical history apply.
O’Sullivan, 45, sticks to his strength: football expertise earned on NFL playing fields and inside NFL film rooms, where the lessons can be unsparing, in an 11-year career.
It’s an expertise that has made his YouTube page, The QB School, a big hit with Patreon subscribers.
So when O’Sullivan reported further Wednesday on his studies of Shedeur Sanders, the most recognized member of the incoming NFL draft class, he made no claim of those views being definitive overall.
Nor did he forecast where the former Colorado QB might be chosen in the first round Thursday night.
Asked about Sanders’ NFL upside, the ex-QB made two firm points.
One, the comparisons to Joe Burrow aren’t convincing.
Two, Colorado’s offensive system last year bore almost no resemblance to an NFL scheme — and that no doubt added difficulty to NFL teams’ projections for the 6-foot-1 ½, 212-pound son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, who was Shedeur’s head coach at both Jackson State and Colorado.
O’Sullivan said “many people” have compared Sanders, 23, to Burrow, who was 23 when he was drafted first by the Bengals in 2020 before leading Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in his second season.
“So,” O’Sullivan said, “that would be a pretty amazing ceiling.”
Alas, the San Diegan’s film study wasn’t kind to that comparison.
“I think of Joe as someone who spins and throws it really everywhere on the field,” O’Sullivan said. “And, I feel like when you watch Shedeur’s film, there aren’t quite as many drive throws where he’s really ripping the ball down the field with any sort of velocity — besides, kind of, go (and) fade balls on the perimeter.”
O’Sullivan didn’t rule out Sanders evolving into a er who “rips” such throws. “If he grows that and puts that into his bag of every other thing that he does — feeling like that’s pretty polished — he’s certainly got an opportunity to be a really good player for a really long time,” O’Sullivan said.
Because of Deion Sanders’ NFL background, many draftniks assumed Shedeur Sanders directed a pro-style attack in Boulder.
But “that’s not just the case at all,” O’Sullivan said.
In fact, O’Sullivan called Colorado’s ’24 offense dated, static and limited.
“It’s all open edge,” he said. “The run game is rough. The offensive line play is disgusting. They can’t pick up a stunt. There’s a limited number of plays and concepts. There’s almost no pocket movement.
“There’s so many screen or near-the-line-of-scrimmage plays that it’s hard to project, hey, how is Shedeur going to navigate third down consistently in the league?” he said. “There just aren’t a lot of opportunities to see (NFL-style tactics) consistently on the film.”
O’Sullivan studied eight QB prospects, then ranked them strictly by when he would take them.
Miami’s Cam Ward was first, followed by Sanders, Jalen Milroe (Alabama), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Jaxson Dart (Mississippi), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), Will Howard (Ohio State) and Tyler Shough (Louisville).
O’Sullivan itted to reaching on Milroe, who isn’t a polished er. The 22-year-old’s great mobility and ability to “rip it 60 yards” excites him.
Ewers “looked hurt a lot,” O’Sullivan said. But his high notes rocked O’Sullivan. Ewers’ “one quarter” of brilliance against Alabama, in 2002, was “better than anyone else in this draft,” O’Sullivan said.
Ward is expected to go first, to the pitiful Titans. Former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network said Sanders could go as soon as No. 2 to the Browns, No. 3 to the Giants — or much later than that. A team could wait for him in the second round or trade up.
Other options include the Steelers, who hold the No. 21 pick, and perhaps a team that trades into the first round after not taking Sanders earlier.
O’Sullivan pointed out that NFL teams will have a lot of private information on Sanders that will inform their decision on whether to make a big investment in him.
“Just off the film of his playing football last year, it’s really, really hard to feel great about any sort of high-Round-1 projection,” he said.
A long wait Thursday night may not be a bad thing for Sanders. Going late in the first round to a good team benefited QBs such as Lamar Jackson (Ravens) and Aaron Rodgers (Packers).
