Deion Sanders Defends Mel Kiper Jr. Following Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward NFL Draft Drama

McMurphy reported that Miami coach Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson never spoke with Kiper during the pre-draft process. Fortunately for Ward, he still went No. 1 overall, and Cristobal told McMurphy that he wasn't bothered by Kiper's coverage.

"However, Cristobal & OC Shannon Dawson never spoke w/ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., who was criticized for overshadowing Ward’s moment w/his non-stop Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders narrative," McMurphy wrote. "'Never heard from him,' Cristobal said. 'I don’t think I’ve ever talked to him.' Cristobal added he wasn’t disappointed by Kiper ignoring Ward."

Kiper was quick to respond to McMurphy's attack, adding that he didn't speak with "Coach Prime" either about his son Shedeur.

"Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didn’t speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts," Kiper wrote. "Interesting isn’t it. And oh by the way, I didn’t speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I need another Orange Crush after this nonsense."

The back-and-forth caught the attention of "Coach Prime," who shared his support of Kiper on X.

"But I Love u my man!" Deion Sanders wrote Thursday. "You stood on the desk with great balance 10 toes down and said what u doggone said & didn’t flinch. You knew what time it was my man & we’re blessed to be right where God wanted us to be. 'With OPPORTUNITY' they forgot I was in the tv/entertainment business for 20 years before coaching."

Deion Sanders was an NFL Network analyst before making a full transition to coaching and he's still in television as the co-host of Tubi's "We Got Time Today."

While Shedeur's draft fall was certainly unexpected, his focus is now on making the Browns' 53-man roster and ultimately earning the team's starting quarterback role . He'll be competing with fellow draft pick Dillon Gabriel, veteran Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett this summer and during the preseason for the trust of coach Kevin Stefanski.