Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has become one of the more polarizing prospects in recent memory. He’s been touted as the first-overall pick in some mock drafts but has also caught a lot of flack since a Combine report surfaced that he was “unprofessional” in his interviews.
Many believe the heat comes from who his father is, Hall-of-Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. Both were asked about the pre-draft “noise” Shedeur has experienced and Deion had a blunt response for one NFL team.
Deion Sanders Calls Out ‘Lies’ About His Son During Pre-Draft Process
Shedeur led an impressive turnaround at Colorado in 2024, throwing for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns while completing 74% of his passes. That completion percentage led FBS last season and made him the all-time leader in FBS career completion percentage at 71.8%.
He’s settled into the QB2 position in this year’s class but is still expected to be taken early. PFSN’s latest three-round mock draft has him going to the New York Giants at No. 3. However, he was getting first-overall pick love until the Combine. This seems to be where the narrative against Shedeur began, and Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson recently released an article detailing how both Shedeur and Deion have handled the “lies”.
Shedeur spoke with NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks about the pre-draft noise at the Big 12 Pro Day saying, “We always understood to block out the noise, even from Jackson State and Colorado. There’s a lot of critics, there’s a lot of hate. But we know what to do.
“We know how to handle that in every way, so we remain happy. … Either you’re gonna be watching or you’re gonna be talking about it. It’s gonna be one of the two, so I’d rather be the one getting talked about than the one just watching, hating on another guy.”
This was a very well-thought-out statement from Shedeur in a nationally televised interview, so the idea of him being “unprofessional” seems extreme. NFL Network questioned Deion about his son, and the Hall-of-Famer had a much more curt response.
Deion Sanders addressed reports that were critical of his son Shedeur’s interviews with an NFL team during the pre-draft process.
“Now that was a lie.”
More on what was said in an interview with NFL Network ⤵️https://t.co/II5brzcaoj pic.twitter.com/8PUgKqx10r
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic)
When asked about the interview reports, Deion responded, “Now that was a lie.”
He was asked how he prepared Shedeur for the experience and replied, “You mean the lies or the interviews?”
Robinson wrote about Deion, “He went on to say Shedeur was “built for” the interview process with NFL teams, leaning on his experience being in the spotlight most of his life as a football player, and the success that he had put on film in college. But the “lies,” that was a different set of circumstances.”
Deion agreed with his son saying, “But we’re great with adversity. We’ve always been through adversity. We’ve always been challenged with adversity and the naysaying and the doubting. He is built for that. He’s the most qualified young man that plays that position that’s built for that, and to be in front of the lights and to continuously shine.”
Coach Prime then went off the rails and called out an unnamed NFL team for spreading the lies. “We like to call that stuff out, though,” he said, “I know who it is. You’re going to make me call him out. You know what team, yeah, all right? You gotta understand it. Don’t make me pull behind the curtains and step in that thing.”
This is a fairly serious allegation against an NFL team, but Deion wasn’t shy about standing up for his son. If this is true, it’s unlikely the mystery team would select Shedeur, but if they did it would be fair to expect a repeat of the Eli Manning, San Diego Chargers saga in 2004.
