Stephen A. Smith: Shedeur, Deion Sanders 'deserved better' in NFL Draft

This past weekend, Shedeur Sanders suffered an unexpected slide in the 2025 NFL Draft. After being ranked by many experts as the No. 2 quarterback in the draft, Sanders ended up being the sixth QB taken off the board.

Despite also drafting former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round, the Cleveland Browns ultimately selected Sanders with the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round of the draft. Numerous reports have emerged claiming that Sanders’ slide in the draft was due to teams fearing he’d bring unnecessary drama and attention with him.

Sanders was one of the biggest stars in college football the past two seasons, and his father, Deion, is known for his larger-than-life personality. On Monday, First Take host Stephen A. Smith ripped NFL teams for hesitating to draft Shedeur Sanders.

“What has Shedeur Sanders done?” Smith said. “He ain’t getting in any trouble off the field. He’s not acting up. He’s not being some irresponsible individual. He puts in the work.

“… Some of those owners and some of those executives, they should be ashamed of their damn selves for what they did to Shedeur Sanders because they were really targeting ‘Prime Time’ Deion Sanders. And I think it’s egregious, considering who he is and what he has meant to football on the pro and collegiate level. He deserved better.”

Sanders had back-to-back excellent seasons at Colorado under his father, who took over the Buffaloes in 2023. Alas, Shedeur didn’t participate in the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and reportedly had several pre-draft interviews with teams not go well.

Nonetheless, Stephen A. Smith believes NFL teams passed on Sanders because of Deion. In 2018, Deion tweeted that he would “pull an Eli Manning” if he were a young quarterback drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

Manning famously stated that he would refuse to play for the Chargers if drafted by them when they had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. Smith believes past comments like these from Deion unfairly led to Shedeur Sanders’ slide in the draft.

“It is important to ask this question: What exactly has Deion done? He has an exceptional relationship with the league office. He used to work at CBS. He worked at the NFL Network. He loves kids. He believes in being a role model.

“… Whatever imperfections he may have exercised leading up to the draft, it wasn’t worth sending a message to him through his son, of all people. A son who performed, a son who was clearly at least the second-best quarterback in the draft. We’re talking about the most important position in football. To let this man drop to [pick No. 144], to have this man endure four and a half rounds where he’s not even mentioned.”