"He's not as good a prospect as Eli": NFL insider issues Shedeur Sanders warning amid rumors of Coach Prime's intervention
Deion Sanders has coached his son, now-former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, through his college career. The question now is where the younger Sanders will end up in the NFL Draft — and if his father will have any say behind the scenes.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer joined Boston's 98.5 The Sports Hub on Sunday to discuss the situation. He believes Coach Prime might try to do what he thinks is best for his son, comparing the situation to that of Archie and Eli Manning.
"I do think this feels to me, at least, like an Archie/Eli situation. You know, where 20 years ago, Archie saw it as, 'I don't like the situation with the team that has the first pick, so I'm gonna steer him somewhere else and I'm gonna be the bad guy.'"
Breer dived further into that comparison, pointing out that, just because Deion Sanders wants Shedeur Sanders to wind up somewhere beneficial, he likely won't linger. Breer also warned the father-son duo about the possible effect of choosing spots.
"There were a lot of questions back then, if you remember, about, 'Well, does that mean if you draft Eli, you're getting Archie?'" Breer said. "No. Like, because Archie was never gonna do that. ... It was just getting him to the right place and then he disappeared. I think that might be part of what's going on with Shedeur. Deion might be helping try to steer him to a certain place and the risk is that he's not as good a prospect as Eli.
"You're dismissive to a couple teams you don't wanna go to and, all of a sudden, you fall out of the first round."
The Mannings' situation was a little different than the Sanders'. Coming out of Ole Miss, Eli Manning was regarded as the No. 1 prospect in the NFL Draft, one that also included high-level future pros Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers. The latter wound up at the reins of the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers' offense for an extended career after Manning was shipped to the New York Giants.
Manning won a pair of Super Bowls with Big Blue, which could also be a possible landing spot for Shedeur Sanders being they haven't added a passer in free agency.
Does Coach Prime have a say in where Shedeur Sanders ends up?
Cleveland has long struggled at quarterback. The Browns are a group that could be interested in taking Shedeur Sanders, even after trading for former first-round draft choice Kenny Pickett on Monday.
Some in Cleveland worry about whether Shedeur Sanders would fit and how much of a presence Coach Prime would have.
"Shedeur Sanders, I have some concern," Cleveland sports personality Matt Fontana said in January. "I think Cam is the better prospect, and it's hard to not factor in Deion. Because if they're gonna sit there and start playing this game on where he wants to go, I'm not signing up for Odell Beckham again. Odell Beckham never wanted to be here. From the second he got traded here, he never wanted to be here, alright?"
Deion Sanders had an interesting draft experience of his own, which is why his other son, Shilo, has also joked about its effect on him and Shedeur.