29-04-2025
Cris Carter discusses Shedeur Sanders, NFL draft: 'There was not a collusion message'
Cris Carter discusses Shedeur Sanders, NFL draft: 'There was not a collusion message'
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Why does Jordan Palmer think Shedeur Sanders fell in the draft?
Former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer shares his thoughts on Shedeur Sanders falling to the fifth round of the NFL draft.
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Cris Carter doesn't have time for conspiracies.
The NFL Hall of Fame receiver had plenty to say about the 2025 NFL Draft, which is becoming more commonly known as "The Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft" with each passing day. Everyone has a take, which ranges from league collusion to a talent problem and everything in between.
Well, Carter seems to have made his opinion clear on the matter, which he addressed on the latest episode of the Fully Loaded podcast.
"There was not a collusion message with the NFL owners, Carter said. "Because they wouldn't be able to keep a secret like that."
Sanders famously fell to the fifth round of the draft, with his slide ending when the Cleveland Browns selected the Colorado prospect with the 144th overall pick.
Carter instead placed some blame on Sanders' family, specifically his father, Deion, an NFL Hall of Famer and current Colorado head coach.
"It's a small word. This whole thing with Deion and the media and everything, like, it's out of control. It did not help him."
"You're going for a job interview," Carter said. "So for his job interview, he was so concerned about what his outfit was, his necklace was over a hundred grand. Like, he hadn't even convinced people that you're the face of our franchise. Matter of fact, he had convinced people that they were better off going in a different direction even with people who had lesser talent. That's the rub he put onto people."
Carter added that Sanders threw away at least $30 to $50 million in this process.
The former Minnesota Viking said the quarterback's tape was good enough to make him a first-round pick, but the added factors made the situation worse.
"He doesn't have a big time arm. He's not a big guy. He's not overly athletic. So his measurables are not say first-round measurables, but he played football like a first-rounder."
More: Why did Shedeur Sanders fall in the NFL draft?
Carter highlighted the bad meetings, his father's potential NFL future and the prominence of his brand already. He said that Sanders is not a generational quarterback that would allow teams to overlook the other things.
"But Shedeur and his family, they overplayed their hand," Carter said. "Them thinking that he was in the same evaluation mode as Eli Manning, they didn't play that right. Them trying to narrow the teams that he was going to go to, that didn't do right.
"Not working out at the combine, that wasn't the right thing. His interview process – obviously he could have done a lot better in that. A lot of people left that meeting and felt he was very, very entitled."
Carter did admit that Sanders fell further than he thought he would, saying this process and the system taught Sanders a lesson.
"Let me tell you what he understands today," Carter said. "He ain't running (expletive). Okay? Let me tell you what, they taught him a great lesson. You don't have this figured out. Your dad don't have this figured out."
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