By Adeniyi Precious 
The whole debate about whether quarterbacks should pat the ball before throwing it is still going strong. Some coaches think it helps QBs chill out and throw more accurately, while others say it just slows them down and could lead to picks.
So when Shedeur Sanders—one of the top QB prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft—was seen doing it at Colorado’s pro day, people had opinions.
Jets safety Andre Cisco wasn’t impressed. He posted a clip on X (yeah, that’s Twitter now) showing Sanders patting the ball and basically said, “Stop doing that or you’ll be throwing interceptions in the league.”
But Darius Slayton, wide receiver for the New York Giants, wasn’t having it. He didn’t call Cisco out directly, but he reposted the same clip and said the whole “ball patting” thing isn’t a big deal.
And honestly, he’s not wrong. Tom Brady used to pat the ball all the time—and that guy won seven Super Bowls and threw more touchdowns than anyone in NFL history. So maybe let’s not freak out over it?
As for Sanders, his stats speak for themselves. In two seasons with Colorado, he completed nearly 72% of his passes, threw for over 7,300 yards, and had 64 touchdowns. Last year, he even led the team to their first bowl game in four years.
And if the latest mock drafts are right, he might go as high as No. 2 overall to the Browns. So yeah, patting the ball might not be a career killer after all.