After it was learned at the NFL Scouting Combine that Miami’s Cam Ward is the “consensus” No. 1 quarterback in this year’s draft class ahead of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, some wondered if certain NFL head coaches were simply worried they could eventually “be supplanted by” Colorado head coach Deion Sanders if they drafted Deion’s son.
During a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” former NFL player/executive and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick touched up whether Deion’s personality is impacting opinions of Shedeur.
“Deion is a lightning rod,” Riddick said, as shared by Stephen Douglas of Sports Illustrated. “That’s where it starts. It doesn’t even start with Shedeur. This starts with his father and it trickles down to him. And it starts with his father. It’s been that way since I played with Deion back in 1992 in Atlanta. People don’t like flashy guys like that who can back it up. They just don’t. They don’t like people who are strong, confident.”
Shedeur Sanders’ alleged draft stock could be the NFL’s biggest story when the actual player-selection process opens on the night of April 24. Back on March 6, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler predicted that Shedeur could fall to the draft’s 21st pick before he’s taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, ESPN’s Field Yates thought as recently as this past Monday that the New York Giants wouldn’t let Shedeur get past them at pick No. 3.
Shedeur Sanders reportedly “hit the wrong notes in combine interviews” with some unnamed teams that now don’t view him as a first-round prospect. Riddick noted that Shedeur seemingly is following in his father’s footsteps.
“With Deion,” Riddick continued, “he’s always been a polarizing player to the people who don’t know him. If you know him personally, you would be like, ‘I get it and I love it. Give me more of it.’ With Shedeur, he has some of his father in him. How could he not? He’s the man’s son. So a lot of it comes from who he is and what his last name is.”
As of the second Wednesday of March, it appears that Shedeur Sanders probably won’t be the first quarterback drafted this spring. One wonders how far he’ll drop on April 24 if the Cleveland Browns at pick No. 2 and Giants at No. 3 go in different directions.