Sanders routinely lives in the shadow of Thomas, but he is regarded as one of the most polished route runners in the business. He has all of the tools (speed, quickness, patience, creativity and savvy) to spin defenders around like tops in space. Studying Sanders' game on tape, it stands out that defenders are routinely unable to stay in his hip pocket despite playing with proper leverage and cushion prior to the snap. This is a testament to Sanders' superb acting skills and his deceptive maneuvers (stutter steps and head-and-shoulder fakes) within routes. He not only does a great job of selling the initial part of the route, but he flashes the quickness and burst to run away from defenders out of breaks. As a result, he is always open and increasingly becoming the Broncos' top receiver in critical situations.