While Shedeur battles for Browns' starting job, Deion remains 'hurt' about NFL Draft

Fox Sports

2 days ago

Deion Sanders doesn't believe the rumors of the reasoning behind his son's unexpected fall down the NFL Draft boards in April. Leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, many reports surfaced that Shedeur Sanders – who was projected to be a first-round pick - came 'unprepared' to one-on-one meetings and interviews with teams.
Even with those reports, though, nobody thought he'd end up being selected where he ultimately was. The Cleveland Browns took Sanders in the fifth round, as their second quarterback in the draft.
With all 32 NFL teams passing on him at some point, the validity of the theory that he was unimpressive in those interviews grew. His father, though, still sees those claims simply, as rumors, words that stung him.
"It did hurt," Deion Sanders said on the most recent episode of former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel's podcast, "Say What Needs To Be Said". "But the Bible says God uses the foolish things to confound the wise. There was some foolish stuff that went on, but that gave them something that they needed."
"When you sit up there and say something like he went into a meeting unprepared, like, dude," the Colorado coach added, "Shedeur Sanders? Who has had six different [offensive] coordinators, who has still functioned and leveled up every time we brought somebody new in, and you're going to tell me he was unprepared? You're going to tell me he had on headphones? Anybody who knows my son understands he's a professional. He's going to go into a meeting with headphones on? Y'all, come on now."
While Deion is refusing to accept the rumors regarding his son's level of preparation are entirely true. He believes they can be used as a source of motivation, comparing it to the edge that seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady built by facing criticism head on.
Shedeur is, seemingly, looking at the criticism in that way, too, opting to wear No. 12, the number Brady sported throughout his career.
Deion, though, may have made a good point — that Shedeur's draft-day plummet didn't occur solely because of the impression he left on teams. The other potential reason for his son's fall, however, may not be one Deion wants to hear.
"It's the beginning of June, and Deion is already complaining about his son, and what went down at the draft," Jason McIntyre said Monday on Fox Sports' "The Herd." "This, my friends, is why Shedeur Sanders fell in the draft. Front offices were just like, 'No, thank you on Shedeur Sanders,' precisely because of this."
Essentially, McIntyre's saying that NFL teams didn't want to deal with Deion's constant media presence and that's why they were dissuaded from drafting his son. His external criticism of the NFL and its teams, which is constant and recently happened on Samuel's podcast, justifies McIntyre's take further. Instead of reflecting internally about how he and his son could have changed their approach, or things they did in the lead up to Shedeur's draft-day fall, he blamed everyone else.
No matter the heavy amount of post-analysis, that part of Shedeur's journey is done. He's been drafted, and signed a rookie contract with the Browns. Instead of living in and critiquing the past, he and his father can look to the future as he competes to become the Browns' starting quarterback.
"Hey Deion, Shedeur's now 23 years old," McIntyre added, "I'm not telling a grown man what to do, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, Deion, if next time you're asked about it, you say, 'I wish my son the best. I will be rooting for him hard. I'm a Cleveland Browns fan. Go Browns!' Just stop. All you're doing is hurting Shedeur."
The Browns' quarterback battle is wide open and there's a real chance for Shedeur to get the starting job. Whether he earns it or not is, though, is completely dependent on his performance in training camp, no matter how much Deion wants to impact the outcomes of his son's future or opine about the past.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
recommended
Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic