Stephen A. Smith: Shedeur Sanders critics rooted in hatred of Deion Sanders

There are two quarterbacks sitting atop most NFL Draft boards, Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward. However, Sanders is now facing criticism, largely due to a perceived attitude that he has given off in meetings with teams.

Amid that criticism of Shedeur Sanders, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith came to Shedeur’s defense. He argued on First Take that it’s best for a young quarterback to be confident and pointed out that Shedeur doesn’t have off-field issues. Instead, he believes this issue is that critics simply don’t like his father, Deion Sanders.

“I’m trying to remain composed and not really be as angry as I want to be,” Stephen A. Smith said. “I’m fuming inside right now. What is he supposed to be as a quarterback entering the NFL? You can’t be insecure and still succeed. You can’t have doubts about your abilities and be successful as a quarterback in the NFL. If I know that, every single executive knows you have to have confidence. He has a resume that validates and backs up his confidence.”

In his college career, Shedeur Sanders followed his father from Jackson State to Colorado. He’d spend two seasons with the Buffaloes, becoming one of the best-known and most discussed quarterbacks in the country. He’d finish the 2024 season completing 74 percent of his passes for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

“So, I’m getting angry because a young black man, highly successful, highly accomplished, and incomparable and incredible pedigree is entering the NFL, is considered easily one of the top two quarterbacks entering the NFL Draft,” Smith said.

“We ain’t hearing about his lack of mobility, lack of arm strength, whether or not he can make the requisite throws. We’re hearing about his attitude. Hasn’t been in trouble. Ever found himself in any kind of trouble? Is there anything that has besmirched or stained his resume his name in any way? The closest thing this brother has come to a crime is when Colorado State was talking smack to them and he refused to shake the quarterback’s hand and said, ‘I heard what you said. I heard what you said.’ Or when the Coach was talking about Primetime, his daddy, and was going with the watch. That’s about it. He’s done nothing wrong.”

Ultimately, Smith believes that the criticism of Shedeur Sanders comes from people’s feelings towards Deion Sanders. Those emotions, which are often negative, have ultimately led to an unfair criticism of the young quarterback.

“So, why are we having this conversation about his character? I’ll tell you why, because you’ve got people hating on his daddy and they want any excuse they can come up with. Let me remind America why Deion Sanders — we gonna say this — this is why Deion Sanders is hated by some people. Because he was the greatest, and he told you saw, and then went out there and showed you so, and you were helpless to do anything about it. Then, when he talked about it not only could you not play with him, you couldn’t talk better than him, you couldn’t articulate your thoughts better than him, you didn’t have that swag, that flavor about you, that vibe about you. You couldn’t resonate with an audience and gravitate them towards you, and Deion knew it, and you hated him for it,” Smith said.

“So, since you couldn’t touch him, now you’re trying to touch his son. This is low. The fact that this is a story, the fact that people are putting this out there… I’m saying, the fact that somebody would say this stuff is low. It’s low but that’s aight because this is 2025 and Deion Sanders has got cover all day every day right here, with me, with him, and with any of us on any damn network that covers the NFL. We know who the hell Primetime is. The brother is so primetime it’s sacrilegious to talk about him in the daytime. That’s how bigtime Primetime is, and now his son is coming and they’re going to use this as an excuse. Sorry asses. Y’all make me sick. I’m talking about the people that put that stuff out there.”

The narrative about Sanders’ attitude, regardless of how fair or true it is, is out there now and will likely be something to contend with. It will be interesting to see how it may impact him in the NFL Draft. ESPN’s Louis Riddick already doubts that Sanders can pass Ward. On top of that, in a recent mock draft, Sanders is projected to be taken by the Steelers at 21st overall, which would be a massive slide.