XPost: alt.politics.republicans, alt.society.liberalism, alt.sports.football.pro.cleve-browns
XPost: sac.politics

The crisis of our time has been somewhat averted with Shedeur Sanders,
the son of Deion Sanders, finally getting selected by the Browns in the
fifth round of the NFL draft. And if you don't know anything about
football and are reaching for that back key, like all things, this has inevitably become political, so there'll be something for you as well.

To offer a quick recap of how we got here, Shedeur Sanders was projected
by many media personalities to go in the first round, with ESPN's Mel
Kiper having him rated as his top quarterback. The situation was always
a lot more complicated than statistics and projections, though. Shedeur
Sanders had become infamous for his arrogance and entitlement, taking to calling himself a "legend" after barely posting a .500 record at
Colorado University.

The school even recently retired his number at the behest of his father,
who is the coach (and Hall of Fame NFL player) of the aforementioned
Buffaloes. For the draft, an entire custom green room was built, with
the anticipation that he would go very early. There were also a series
of on-the-field incidents arguably demonstrating bad sportsmanship and a
lack of leadership.

In other words, Shedeur Sanders came across as a spoiled brat, flaunting
his wealth and privilege, and that continued into the draft process.
There were reports of him being ill-prepared for meetings at the combine
(which is essentially a pre-draft workout) and even sandbagging to try
to ensure he didn't go to certain teams. At one point, Shedear Sanders
told teams, "Don't get me if you ain't trying to change the franchise or
the coach." Again, the sense of over-inflated worth and authority no
doubt worried NFL teams, especially given that his ceiling as a prospect
was actually not that high, relatively speaking.

Of course, as he began to tumble in the draft, some cried racism.



Given that over 80 percent of the players drafted before Sanders were
black, including the first overall pick, I'm going to go out on a limb
and suggest that racism wasn't a factor here. Instead, it seems pretty
clear that Shedeur Sanders' limited athleticism and the circus-like
atmosphere surrounding him were the reason he fell. Teams will take on
just about anything if the talent level is there. They are much less
likely to take a risk on what they see as a marginal prospect, though,
and while the press was enamored with Shedeur Sanders, it was
consistently reported that NFL teams were not based on their evaluations.

With all that said, the Cleveland Browns finally selected Shedeur
Sanders in the fifth round on Saturday, and one of Deion Sanders' old
tweets was immediately dug up.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GpfdTJlXEAAEOY1?format=jpg&name=360x360

Given that the Browns were picking second overall on Friday night, I'd
say their situation is probably worse than it was at the time of that
post. So certainly, there's a bit of irony in Shedeur Sanders' father
saying any quarterback should "pull an Eli Manning" if picked by the
"Factory of Sadness" (sorry, Browns fans). What makes this funnier,
though, is that Deion Sanders suggested earlier in the draft process
that his son wouldn't play for certain teams. So yeah, the fact that all
32 ended up passing on him repeatedly is just a bit poetic.

Look, I'm not here to endlessly dunk on the guy, but there's a lesson
here. NFL teams are professional organizations. They don't care what
ESPN says or how much Stephen A. Smith rants and raves. Shedeur Sanders
thought he was bigger than the process, and he paid the price. Perhaps
this will humble him and help him have a good career. We'll see.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2025/04/26/shedeur-sanders-finally-gets-drafted-and-then-people-dug-up-his-dads-old-tweets-n2188360

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