Why Shedeur Sanders ended up sliding in NFL Draft? Maybe Deion didn’t know best

It’s an example of a father wanting the best for his son, but NFL organizations clearly didn’t want to deal with a “helicopter dad” creating unnecessary chaos within their organization. Imagine having Kevin Stefanski’s job right now. If the mistakes pile up, Browns fans will be calling for Deion to be hired as head coach. Not to mention, Coach Prime will still be vocal from the sidelines. Some NFL teams said ‘No, thank you’ to the notion of playing into a ‘Daddy ball’ situation.

What about the training session between new Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward and Shedeur last year over the Fourth of July weekend. Ward was telling Sanders to take the workout time seriously and “Stop BSing.” It appeared there was more concern about being on the beach and hanging out on a yacht. Ward goes No. 1 overall and Sanders slides. 

That shouldn’t be a reason NFL teams decided to look away from drafting Sanders. He’s a young man that wants to relax during his downtime and enjoy life a little bit, which there is nothing wrong with. In this example, people are hating and not wanting Shedeur to be great. When Sanders should have been watching tape and focusing on his craft, the cameras were rolling with no edits.  

This is one moment NFL decision makers didn’t need to see. The Sanders family got comfortable with everything being about “clicks and views,” as Cormani McClain would say. Nobody stopped to think about how this might look down the road when NFL teams start digging in the dinosaur graveyard for bones.

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar global brand that will always “protect the shield.” It’s not just a slogan, but a core value of the league. It doesn’t matter who your father is or what they accomplished as a Hall-of-Famer.

Maybe Deion didn’t know what was best for his kids and that’s okay. He’s an outstanding father who wants to do what is best in his mind. Sometimes that should mean getting out of the way and allowing the real ones to do work. One of the statements made by ESPN’s Peter Schrager said it all. When Shedeur was falling in the draft, he said this was a “non-traditional” situation because there was no agent involved. Deion assumed the role of representing his sons, which could’ve been costly. 

If a real agent was doing the dirty work to blow up teams and gauge the situation, this might’ve had a different result.

Sanders’ talent on the field can’t be denied. The reports of him having a weak arm, not studying the playbook, and being held accountable are blown out of proportion.

Also, this fixation of people hating on the Sanders family for who they are is counterproductive. It fuels them to keep competing. But it also sent people into a tailspin like Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who prank-called Shedeur during the NFL draft. Ulbrich and his friends called Sanders and acted as if they were reps from the New Orleans Saints.

You think Shedeur is going to somehow forget about the prank call and sliding in the draft? This is like pouring gasoline on a wildfire for him.  

Sanders’ NFL Draft nightmare is over. Now the hard work begins with the Cleveland Browns. Time for ‘Grown’ to focus on the main goal of being Legendary.