Deion Sanders addresses criticism Shedeur, Shilo receive in pre-NFL Draft process: 'We built for this'

Deion Sanders addressed any criticism Shedeur and Shilo Sanders receiver in the pre-NFL Draft process. Simply put, the former Colorado stars are built for that type of criticism, as Coach Prime put it.

“First of all, it’s a blessing,” Sanders said. “They received a lot more ignorance than I did. You know, I received something, but we didn’t have the social media channels and all the different things that’s privy today … I mean, you got to understand I was a two sport guy at the time, so you could imagine what it would have been like with all the hate in the naysayers. I was a little different. It was a team I wanted to go to that made it possible for me to go to that team and that team only because I had the leverage of playing baseball, and I’m thankful that the Atlanta Falcons chose me. That’s where I wanted to go. 

“My kids don’t have the luxury of saying where they want to go. We would never do such a thing. And I told you, if that’s what would come to that, I would quietly talk to that team behind the curtains. I would never put them on blast for nothing of the sort. Shilo is working his butt off … I can’t wait to see how sharp he is. Shedeur is a workaholic. You guys know that he is who he is, and sometimes people forget what he’s accomplished here at CU and how accurate and how good he is, because you got to take a shot at somebody, and you might as well take a shot as a Sanders, we built for this.”

Sanders has never been shy about expressing his confidence in his sons. Shedeur is expected to go in the first round, if not in the top 10, as the second quarterback in the NFL Draft. Shilo is a mid to late-round prospect, but Deion Sanders already claimed the family won.

Deion Sanders confident in Shedeur, Shilo thriving post-college

“We’ve been through this from birth, from youth ball, from his first Pee Wee ball. You don’t think when we put up in the car that we put up with, and the gear that we put up with, and the team that we put up with, we want to type and criticize, you know, they’ve been through this,” Sanders said. “They got this. So I love it, because it’s giving them that understanding and that chip on their shoulder, not that they need it. But I like it. I really like it, and I can’t wait. We’ve already won. 

“We came from a private school and we came from an HBCU. We’ve won. He’s getting drafted. He’s gonna go on the first round. Shilo’s gonna do his thing. All he needs is opportunity. We’ve won, man, we’ve already won. So we’re thankful, and we’re just trying to pave the way for others so we can’t lose.” 

Sanders has to transition to Colorado Year 3 without his sons and Travis Hunter. But he’ll be in his own zone and he’ll happy to watch his boys in the pros.

“At this point, we’re so darn blessed. We’re not stressed,” Sanders said. “Do you see how I look right now? Do I look stressed? Let me take these glasses off so you can zoom in. Do I look stressed? No, I look blessed. Okay, so, you know, I don’t know what to expect from my kids. They daddy’s sons, man, please. We’re used to adversity. We’re used to ignorance and adolescence. We’re used to that. 

“So if anybody could handle it, I think they can, and I’m a proud father not for the stuff that you know about. I’m proud for the stuff that you don’t know about that they’ve gotten through, I am.”