Deion Sanders Calls Out Shedeur’s 2025 Draft Slide, Says It Impacted Stance on Possible NFL HC Job
University of Colorado head football coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders suggested Friday that the 2025 NFL draft tumble of his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, soured him on the idea of ever coaching in the NFL.
During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Coach Prime was asked if anything could convince him to make the move to the NFL, and he responded by saying, “Not whatsoever. What transpired with my son last year? Ain’t no way in the world.”
Entering the 2025 NFL draft, Shedeur was considered a potential first-round pick after a productive collegiate career at Colorado, but he shockingly fell all the way to the fifth round before the Cleveland Browns took him 144th overall.
Following a legendary playing career, the elder Sanders eventually transitioned into coaching, landing the head coaching job at FCS Jackson State in 2020.
After going 27-6 in three seasons at Jackson State and turning that program around, he was hired by Colorado in 2023, and he brought both Shedeur and two-way superstar Travis Hunter with him from Jackson State.
Sanders went 4-8 in his first season at Colorado, but the Buffaloes improved to 9-4 in his second season, as Hunter won the Heisman Trophy and Shedeur won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Even though Shedeur completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions over his two seasons at Colorado, he ended up being the sixth quarterback taken in the 2025 NFL draft behind Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe and Dillon Gabriel.
During the aftermath of the draft, Jarrett Bell of USA Today asked around to gauge why Shedeur fell as far as he did. One anonymous, high-level NFL executive said, “I think his dad’s involvement hurt him. Some of the things his dad said, I think that weighed on people’s minds.”
Ultimately, it can be argued that the fall still worked in Shedeur’s favor, as he ended up with an organization that gave him an opportunity to start.
After beginning fourth on the Browns’ quarterback depth chart, Sanders quickly moved up thanks to the trades of Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, and Gabriel suffering an injury.
Shedeur started the final seven games of the season, going 3-4 and completing 56.6 percent of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while also rushing for 169 yards and one score.
He was named a Pro Bowl replacement, and all signs point toward Shedeur having a legitimate chance to compete for Cleveland’s starting job entering the 2026 season under new head coach Todd Monken.
While Shedeur appears to be in a good place now, the draft clearly left a bad taste in Deion’s mouth, and it sounds like he is content staying in the college ranks at Colorado.
