Deion Sanders commends Mel Kiper Jr. amid heavy criticism of Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft praise

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. had former Colorado now Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders as his No. 1 signal caller in this year’s draft. And so, Kiper sat on the broadcast in disbelief as Sanders plummeted to the fifth round, selected by the Browns at pick No. 144.

Kiper went on several passionate rants in defense of Sanders, none more notable than when he called out NFL teams for being “clueless” when it comes to quarterback evaluation through the years. Deion Sanders, Colorado head football coach and Shedeur’s dad, thanked Kiper for standing up for his son and showing “great balance” on the broadcast.

“I Love u my man!” Sanders wrote Thursday on X. “You stood on the desk with great balance 10 toes down and said what u doggone said & didn’t flinch. You knew what time it was my man & we’re blessed to be right where God wanted us to be. “With OPPORTUNITY” they forgot I was in the tv/entertainment business for 20 years before coaching.”

Deion Sanders’ tweet to Kiper was in response to the draft analyst addressing comments made by Miami head coach Mario Cristobal. Former Miami quarterback Cam Ward went No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans. Cristobal said he spoke to “a million people” about Ward in the lead-up to the draft; he said he did not hear from Kiper. Cristobal also noted that offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson didn’t speak to Kiper.

Shedeur Sanders: my job is to ‘prove myself right’

Wednesday evening, Kiper fired back. Kiper pointed out the fact he had Ward higher on his Big Board than other analysts and also the fact he didn’t talk with Deion Sanders about Shedeur, either.

“Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didn’t speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts,” Kiper wrote. “Interesting isn’t it. And oh by the way, I didn’t speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I need another Orange Crush after this nonsense.”

Shedeur Sanders’ fall down the draft board was the biggest storyline out of this year’s draft in Green Bay. Kiper received criticism for how he handled the situation. The story dominated coverage, and some wondered if it overshadowed Ward’s selection atop the board.

However, Cristobal kept it in perspective. He said Ward was focusing on getting to work rather than being disappointed about the dialogue.

“The only reason I would be disappointed was if Cam was,” Cristobal said. “But knowing Cam, he just wanted to hear the name & exactly where he was going & get to work.”

As for Sanders, the draft is in the past. He’s now a Brown. The work has just begun as he aims to not prove others wrong but prove himself right.

“My job here isn’t to prove people wrong. It’s to prove myself right and I fully have self-belief, you know, and what those people say, that’s just their opinion,” Sanders said last week. “So, I don’t truly care. They don’t really live in my mental space about that type of stuff. It really doesn’t do anything for me.”