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Deion Sanders’ words apparently weighed heavily with some NFL teams as they contemplated picking his son, Shedeur, in last month’s 2025 NFL Draft.
Speaking to USA Today Sports, one anonymous high-level exec from an NFL club suggested the elder Sanders’ “involvement hurt” the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback, whose draft stock tumbled over three days, with the Browns ultimately selecting Shedeur in the fifth round at No. 144 overall.
“Some of the things his dad said, I think that weighed on people’s minds,” the exec said.
Sanders, 57, stirred buzz during the draft process when he said, “There are certain cities that ain’t gonna happen,” in regards to where Shedeur, 23, and fellow Colorado standout and new Jaguars cornerback/receiver, Travis Hunter, could play.
“I know where I kinda want them to go, and let’s not forget [son] Shilo [Sanders], but I know where I want them to go. So, there are certain cities that ain’t gonna happen… It’s going to be an Eli. We ain’t doing it,” Sanders said in March 2024 on the “Millon Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast.
Sanders referenced Eli Manning’s 2004 draft experience, when he was originally taken No. 1 overall by the Chargers — a team he did not want to play for — before being traded to the Giants, where he played his entire 16-season career and won two Super Bowls.
Although a “high-ranking decision maker” is said to have “liked” Shedeur, there was difficulty separating “the other stuff from the physical abilities.”
A “flashy persona” and “concerns about [Shedeur’s] leadership style” encompassed that “other stuff.”
There was also the matter of Shedeur and brother Shilo, a former safety at Colorado who signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent, not having agents entering the draft but leaning on their dad.
“I think he had some bad advice from his father,” an executive told USA Today. “He needed a traditional agent like other players. He and his dad, they felt like they didn’t need that. I think that affected him.”
Considered one of the most polarizing prospects of the 2025 class, Shedeur’s abilities and personality were widely dissected before the first round began on April 24.
Cleveland stopped Shedeur’s slide on Day 3 of the draft, even after they took former Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel the night before in the third round.
“I know I have to clean up some things in my game to be at my best. The main thing is proving [coach Kevin] Stefanski and [GM Andrew] Berry right about picking me,” Shedeur said after being drafted.
Shedeur is eager to get to work and arrived at rookie minicamp in Cleveland on Thursday.
He joins a crowded quarterback room that includes an injured Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett Joe Flacco, who has “pole position” on the starting job entering spring practices, and Gabriel.
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