From concerns over technique to cries of nepotism, numerous criticisms have been leveled at Bronny James and Shedeur Sanders. While the former Buffalo faces his share as a faltering draft stock, James often sees his presence in the league being questioned as a whole.
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There will always be fair criticisms to make about any athlete. But former NFL rookie sensation and podcaster Robert Griffin III believes that the naysayers of the two young men have gone a bit too far. On the latest installment of his aptly titled Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast, the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year drew a line in the sand after seeing recent complaints about Shedeur Sanders pro day performance.
While claiming that Sanders’ scouting event proved to be phenomenal, RGIII added;
“In recent history, it’s Shedeur Sanders and Bronny James… The criticism isn’t about the sport. It more so has to do with who their parent is, who their father is, how great of a player that person was, the expectations that are levied on them. Because their dads are LeBron James and Deion Sanders. And I also think that it’s a little bit of jealousy.”
The former Washington signal caller also wouldn’t let Sanders’ accomplishments at Jackson State and Colorado be downplayed. Being sure to highlight that Sanders seemingly helped to revitalize those programs, Griffin praised the family for showing love to an HBCU in Jackson State specifically.
Asserting that Sanders himself had to “grind from the bottom” in a football sense, he suggested that the results should speak for themselves.
“They went there, a team that was 1-11, and in two years they were 9-4… The numbers support it. He did it at an HBCU, they said ‘Oh no, he can’t do that at a power five.’ So, he goes to the PAC 12, and then the BIG 12, and does it back-to-back years without an offensive line. Got sacked 94 times in two years at Colorado. It didn’t affect his completion percentage, still high. Didn’t affect his productivity. His touchdown to interception ratio was still unbelievable,” RGIII outlined.
Clearly bought in on the talent of the 2024 Golden Arm winner, Griffin’s comments certainly suggest that Sanders could prove to be a value steal should his draft stock continue to fall. Unfortunately, the scrutiny is likely to intensify as draft day draws closer.
But, importantly, how well did Shedeur perform at the Pro Day?
RGIII reacts to Shedeur Sanders’ Colorado pro day performance
Colorado’s Pro Day presented scouts and analysts alike with one last glimpse at Shedeur Sanders’ capabilities prior to the 2025 NFL Draft. After he made the controversial decision to opt out of participating in the 2025 NFL Combine in favor of his this very event, the former ESPN analyst gave a glowing review of Sanders’ final performance.
“It’s really too difficult to go to a pro day and not have a good day. You’re running around with receivers that you know, in an environment that you’re used to, playing the music that you’re used to listening to. Shorts and t-shirts, you know the routes that are going to be thrown, you know the receivers, and it’s really just a showcase for everybody else, and I think he knocked it out the park,” RGIII added.
While some scouts walked away, having been excited by Sanders’ accuracy and deep ball attempts, others couldn’t help but to harp on his patting of the ball prior to every pass prerelease. Suffice to say, anytime you’re a potential top-10 draft pick, fans and critics alike will look for anything to help justify their take.
Nevertheless, Shedeur will now work exclusively behind closed doors for the next three weeks as he hopes to carry on the tradition of having his family name be the talking point of the NFL Draft.
