Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was the focus of debate and trend in the last three days in the United States, in a controversy where even Donald Trump intervened and one of the most famous sports commentators went as far as discussing a wild conspiracy theory orchestrated by the owners of the 32 NFL teams.
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Sanders, 23 years old, was considered the second-best quarterback for the league Draft, behind Cam Ward, who was ultimately the first pick and will play for the Tennessee Titans in 2025.
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Teams like the Browns, Giants, Saints, and Steelers were considered potential landing spots for the Colorado player due to their needs in the most important position in football. Some experts believed he would be selected by New Orleans with the 9th pick in the Draft, while others thought he would go to Pittsburgh with the 21st pick.
But the first round ended and no team wrote Shedeur Sanders’ name on the selection ballot. Even more surprising was when on Friday, during the second and third rounds, the scenario repeated itself and other quarterbacks, considered by specialists to be of a lower level than Sanders, were indeed selected: Jaxson Dart (from Ole Miss, 25th by the Giants), Tyler Shough (from Louisville, 40th by the Saints), Jalen Milroe (from Alabama, 92nd by the Seahawks), and Dillon Gabriel (from Oregon, 94th by the Browns).
Trump called NFL owners “stupid.”
Prior to the second day of selections, and on his way to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of Sanders in a comment through Truth Social: "What’s wrong with the NFL owners, are they stupid? Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and even greater in the NFL...Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has phenomenal genes and is all set for greatness. He should be ‘picked’ immediately by a team that wants to win”.
Many television broadcast pundits did not have arguments to explain why the Colorado quarterback had fallen so dramatically in the Draft and was not selected by any team.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, one of the most important and controversial in the United States, went as far as to say that the owners of the 32 NFL teams had “colluded” to not select Sanders. “It’s a bad look for the league, this feels like (Colin) Kaepernick-level collusion,” wrote Smith, referring to the player who gained worldwide notoriety for kneeling during the US national anthem to protest against police violence towards minorities and was not signed by any team after 2016.
According to Smith, teams do not want to associate with Deion Sanders, the famous former NFL player and current coach at Colorado, who is considered a divisive figure due to his personality and controversial comments.
In a colder, more serious, and analytical way, some specialists believe that the doubts about Sanders are related to negative aspects in his game, such as the 94 sacks he suffered in Colorado, the power of his arm, and his ability to adapt to a team not coached by his father. Throughout his college career at Jackson State and Colorado, Shedeur was always coached by Deion Sanders.
Sanders was selected in the fifth round of the Draft
Despite the controversy surrounding him, the young athlete remained calm and faithful to the method that led him to become a standout prospect. His patience was finally rewarded on Saturday, when the Cleveland Browns selected him in the fifth round, 144th overall. To celebrate, Sanders jumped into a pool and danced at home after receiving the news.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Sanders expressed. “You can’t afford to be too down about anything. You have to know how to celebrate. When we score a touchdown, we celebrate a little and then get back to work. For me, all of this is just a football game, and that’s how I see it.”
Through his X network account, Deion Sanders only uploaded photos of Shedeur and other Colorado players selected on the last day of the Draft, with the comment “God is good”.
What does Cleveland want to do?
But beyond the setback experienced by Shedeur Sanders, it is not easy to understand what the Browns want to do, as they have veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, backup Kenny Pickett, and in this Draft they added Dillon Gabriel. Not to mention that Deshaun Watson is under contract, the starter at the beginning of the 2024 season, who will likely miss the entire season due to an Achilles tendon injury.
The general manager of the Browns, Andrew Berry, admitted that they did not plan to select two quarterbacks in the same weekend, but defended their strategy of choosing the best available talent.
Cleveland became the first team to select two quarterbacks in the first five rounds since Washington in 2012 with Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins.