Shedeur Sanders defended Will Howard with a social media post shared on Sunday.
Howard was the subject of some criticism after an edited video showing all his worst passes at the NFL Combine went viral over the weekend. Some took the video and ran with it, calling Howard’s performance the worst at the combine ever.
The full picture shows that Howard wasn’t as bad as that specifically edited video made it seem, but the narrative is now out there suggesting he had a bad performance. That’s how it appeared to Sanders, who felt the need to defend his fellow quarterback.
“I don’t understand y’all hating on [Will Howard] he just won a natty. It’s hard to throw to WR’s that you don’t know, everyone run routes different !” Sanders wrote on X.
I don’t understand y’all hating on @whoward_ he just won a natty. It’s hard to throw to WR’s that you don’t know, everyone run routes different !
— Shedeur Sanders (@ShedeurSanders) March 2, 2025
Sanders saying “natty” was about Howard leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the national championship in the past college football season.
Sanders not only showed support for Howard with the comment, but he made a secondary point that may also explain his mentality.
At the scouting combine, quarterbacks are throwing to random wide receivers, not ones with whom they have worked at practice for months or years. Those aren’t exactly optimal conditions for a QB, which could explain why Sanders declined to throw at the combine and instead said he would do so at Colorado’s Pro Day.
Sanders knows he probably had very little to gain by throwing at the combine. But he did have something to lose if he ended up on a bad lowlight reel the way Howard did. That’s exactly what you’re trying to avoid.
