“Football Ain’t Been Real Football Lately”: Dez Bryant Goes All Out on Eric Dickerson’s Report on Shedeur Sanders’ Draft Slide

Former NFL great Eric Dickerson stirred the NFL world this past week, claiming that Shedeur Sanders slipped through several rounds of the draft because of collusion. This was already a theory, but a wild one at that. Then, as the Colorado product kept falling on draft night back in April, it started to feel real, and fans were left stunned. Even longtime draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Kiper Jr. went on a tirade on national television, ripping into teams that needed QB help, yet ignored Shedeur. While some looked at the analyst like he was crazy, he had a point. This was a player who had been scouted and mock-drafted as a high first-round pick. Shedeur had a solid resume too, and he passed the eye test. Why were teams suddenly disinterested in drafting him when the time came?

Reports initially said that Shedeur didn’t have the best pre-draft interviews. But could they really have been so bad that they pushed him out of the first round? Well, Dickerson recently shared that he heard from reputable sources the real reason was that teams colluded against drafting Shedeur.

And when the Colorado product was falling too far down the board, someone made a call to the Browns and forced them to pick him, Dickerson added. It would be a wild story if true.

Former wide receiver Dez Bryant took the time to share his thoughts about the current state of the NFL upon seeing Dickerson’s report. He agreed with the former running back, arguing that the game hasn’t felt pure as of late. 

“People who have never played the game or seen behind the curtains will still argue the valid points these legends are making. Politics has always ruined the game. People in power are getting exposed more and more. Football ain’t been real football lately,” Bryant wrote on his X account.

The former Dallas Cowboys wideout pointed out that there’s a lot behind closed doors that fans don’t get to see, not just in football but in all sports. The process can sometimes create friction with players who don’t fall in line, like Shedeur. And Bryant feels sorry for those athletes because it never ends well for them.

In response to Bryant’s post, fans commended him for speaking up about a topic that hardly gets talked about. 

“Speaking facts. There is a dark underbelly to sports that no one ever wants to talk about,” one wrote.

“It’s not sports anymore, like it used to be. It’s now entertainment industry, just like wrestling is, makes you wonder,” another pointed out,

Others were less surprised, though, and argued that there are politics in every job.

“True, but unfortunately, there’s politics in every profession. No one’s immune,” they argued.

“It’s their game. Y’all are the players. THEY RUN IT,” a user commented.

It’s not like anyone is more or less correct here. There are things that go on behind closed doors in sports that would make fans appalled. However, the same can be said for any profession with a boss who oversees employees. This isn’t a sports-centric issue. 

All in all, we’ll probably never get confirmation that the NFL colluded against drafting Shedeur, but evidence suggests it could’ve happened. Furthermore, any fan with a pair of eyes would say that something fishy definitely happened. After all, how could Tyler Shough, a guy who has looked bad for most of the preseason and didn’t have a stellar college career, get picked over Shedeur? It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.