The NFL Draft concluded Saturday, and still, no one can stop talking about former Colorado turned Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Based on the way the draft was covered on ESPN, ABC, or at times on NFL Network, one would have thought that Shedeur Sanders' fall in the draft was both a criminal act and pure collusion by the NFL to stick it to his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and also teach the son a lesson in humility. Here's the reality: it wasn't, and don't let the outside noise fool you into succumbing to such propaganda.
Why? Ask the New York Giants, the New Orleans Saints and other teams that interviewed with Sanders.
According to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer explains in great detail what was going on behind the scenes. For all the fluff surrounding Sanders, not only as the son of Deion Sanders and his rise from an FCS star to the leader in Boulder, several issues were either under-addressed or unaddressed in the days and weeks leading up to the big show in Green Bay.
"A lot of times in combine meetings, teams will have a player’s worst plays ready for him when he enters the room and, along those lines, one had a particularly rough interception teed up for Sanders in Indianapolis. When asked to explain it, Sanders didn’t take blame. And as they dove deeper into it, and how it might relate to the NFL level, Sanders simply concluded that maybe he and the staff he was talking to might not be a match.
"Ahead of another visit, he got an install with mistakes intentionally planted in it—done to see if a quarterback would catch them. Sanders didn’t catch them. A coach called him on it, and the resulting exchange wasn’t pretty."
Shedeur Sanders falling in the draft may have been his own doing both on and off the field
Over the past few days, we have watched Sanders' draft story be broadcast so much that it's become a headline that his fall in the draft has never been seen before, and various other hot takes. Outside of the cruel prank call that he received, Sanders' actions and play on the field spoke volumes.
Contrary to what those like Stephen A. Smith, Mel Kiper Jr., Rich Eisen, and various other national pundits have wanted you to gloss over the past several years, Sanders wasn't considered by many scouts as an elite first-round quarterback. Too many times at Colorado and even at Jackson State, Sanders tried to play "hero ball," and the result was not pretty.
Yes, offensive line issues were well documented, but that wasn't the only issue. Moreover, the off-script play style may be fun to watch in college, but it rarely proves to be of value at the professional level.
On top of that, the interviews and the attitude shown at the combine rubbed several owners the wrong way. No one is saying Sanders has to be a buttoned-up personality, but certainly, he could have done better. Was it a surprise that he slipped to as low as he did in the draft? Possibly, but it's not as if it is the end of the world or it was such a horrible crime.
Do the Saints and Giants look bad for passing on Sanders? The Giants may not, but the Saints could, and only time will tell if that is truly the case.