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Prime Time isn’t backing down when it comes to his son. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders recently fired back at critics who’ve been trashing his son Shedeur after the quarterback’s shocking slide to the fifth round in this year’s NFL Draft, where the Cleveland Browns finally grabbed him with the 144th pick.
Speaking on former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel’s podcast Say What Needs To Be Said, Coach Prime didn’t mince words about the pre-draft chatter that painted his son as unprepared and unprofessional. He called out NFL insiders for spreading what he sees as complete fabrications about Shedeur’s character and preparation.
“It hurt,” Deion admitted.
The Hall of Famer found a silver lining though, comparing the situation to what fueled other greats: “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… That edge that Tom [Brady] had, it gave [Shedeur and Shilo] the edge that you had, it gave them the edge that I have. Folks said we weren’t gonna be nothing. But we had to prove that. It gave them the edge that they needed. Both of them.”
The Draft Day Slide Nobody Saw Coming
What made the situation so shocking was Shedeur’s college resume. He completed an FBS-leading 74.2% of his passes last season and racked up over 13,000 career passing yards with 121 touchdowns. Many draft analysts had him pegged as a top-five selection, potentially the second QB off the board after Miami’s Cam Ward.
Instead, five quarterbacks heard their names called before Shedeur finally got the call from Cleveland in round five. The criticism that tanked his stock? Scouts questioned his arm strength and pocket presence, while reports circulated that he came across as arrogant in team interviews.
The most damaging rumors suggested Shedeur intentionally bombed interviews with teams he didn’t want to play for — a strategy that brought back memories of Eli Manning’s 2004 draft maneuver.
Coach Prime isn’t having any of it.
“When you sit up there and say something like he went into a meeting unprepared, like, dude,” Deion fired back. “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 gonna tell me he was unprepared? You’re gonna tell me he had on headphones? Anybody who knows my son understands he’s a professional.”
The father-son dynamic definitely complicated matters. Deion had previously said on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast that he’d steer Shedeur away from certain NFL cities — comments that didn’t sit well with front offices around the league. When combined with Shedeur’s decision to skip combine workouts, teams started getting cold feet.
Now in Cleveland, Shedeur finds himself battling veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco for position on the depth chart. Early practice reports have been promising, though he clearly has work to do to climb the ladder.
The Sanders saga highlights the intense scrutiny top prospects face when they have outspoken family members. While some teams were clearly turned off by what they perceived as entitlement, others see a chip-on-the-shoulder motivation that could fuel Shedeur’s NFL career — much like it did for Brady after his infamous sixth-round selection.
For all the pre-draft drama, the real story begins now. Shedeur gets the chance every rookie wants: to let his play do the talking. And you can bet Coach Prime will be watching closely, ready to remind everyone who doubted his son when the time comes.
