Who is Shedeur Sanders? The son of 2-time Superbowl champ Deion Sanders was considered a top-5 pick for the NFL draft – so why was he drafted by the Colorado Browns on the last day as the 144th pick?
From one NFL coach saying he has ‘horrible body language’, to Jax Ulbrich’s cruel prank call and a celebratory party with Kodak Black in Dallas, it’s been a roller coaster month for Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders’ dramatic fall to day three of the NFL draft has baffled fans, analysts and some general managers and coaches.
Sanders was considered a top-five overall pick after finishing his career with the Buffaloes at the University of Colorado Boulder, but he was forced to wait until the draft’s fifth round and final day before learning if – and where – he’d be playing in the upcoming season.
The unexpected fall from grace had everyone speculating about Sanders’ possible shortcomings. Some believe Sanders failed to impress in his interviews with the teams considering him. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones believes he “‘more or less sandbagged’ interviews with teams where he didn’t want to go,” saying, “I don’t know if he didn’t take them seriously, what it was, but he did not give it his all in some of those interviews.”
Sanders also chose not to participate in any NFL Combine drills, instead using the opportunity to position himself as a game-changer, saying, “We went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programmes back-to-back ,” and adding, “You don’t think I could come to an NFL franchise and change a programme again? It’s history. It’s always going to repeat himself.” This reportedly led to management at various teams believing that Sanders was entitled and choosing not to draft him.
Sanders was eventually drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th pick. He became the sixth quarterback drafted this year, despite expectations he would be second behind Miami’s Cam Ward. To his credit, Sanders stayed positive and when he was drafted, reportedly danced and jumped into a swimming pool.
To make matters worse, a video shared on social media showed Sanders taking a call from someone pretending to be the New Orleans Saints’ general manager Mickey Loomis on Friday. The caller claimed that the team was planning to take Sanders on as their next pick but that he’d have to wait a little longer.
Ulbrich took to Instagram on Sunday to publicly apologise to Sanders, writing: “On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Sheduer (sic), what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” Ulbrich wrote.
