Deion Sanders recently revealed that he was hurt by reports claiming Shedeur Sanders was unprofessional in his pre-Draft interviews, especially since he personally mentored and advised his son. Mike Florio, however, disagrees. He believes that because of Deion’s own Draft experience, he gave Shedeur questionable guidance that made the younger Sanders come across as overly cocky for the skill level he currently possesses.
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Let’s start from the beginning: Deion didn’t hold back when he appeared on Asante Samuel’s podcast, Say What Needs To Be Said. He addressed the rumors that Shedeur showed up to a workout unprepared and wearing headphones, and he refuted them vehemently.
Deion claimed that Shedeur had worked under six different coordinators, so his son is always prepared and professional when it comes to talking ball. But Florio doesn’t buy that at all.
“I don’t necessarily buy the logic that because Shedeur Sanders went through a bunch of different coordinators, that means he would’ve been prepared for the draft process,” Florio shared via ProFootballTalk.
“I do not believe he was adequately prepared for the draft process. In large part because he didn’t have an agent who specializes in getting quarterbacks ready for the draft,” the analyst added.
It’s true that Shedeur forwent signing with an agent before the draft and instead used Deion, his father, as his representation. Teams might have viewed that as a major red flag. Florio revealed that he had sources from quarterback-needy teams who told him Shedeur showed up as if he were being recruited, not interviewed.
That’s an interesting approach for a player of Shedeur’s skill level to take. There were a lot of question marks and unknowns that teams hoped to address during interviews. But instead of putting those concerns to rest, Shedeur may have only made them worse. He clearly believed he was more valuable than he ultimately proved to be.
Florio says all of this could have been avoided if Shedeur had hired an agent who could properly prepare him. According to him, Deion, who carried himself as if he were above the teams and lacked experience with humility, was the wrong mentor for his son.
“He needed someone that’s experienced and skilled in getting quarterbacks ready for the entire pre-draft process… Because if dad’s the one that’s helping you, what was dad’s experience?” Florio questioned before role-playing as Deion.
“I don’t need to be interviewed, I’m Deion Sanders. I’m not doing your test, New York Giants. You pick number 18, I’ll be long gone by the time you pick.”
It was the exact approach Deion took during his draft in 1989. His ability and talent were so off the charts that teams were, in fact, recruiting him as a legitimate difference-maker. And Deion could get away with being arrogant toward them because of it.
Shedeur did not have this leeway, though. As mentioned, he was unproven and came with a lot of question marks. Teams didn’t like what he showed throughout the draft process. So, when it came down to it, they looked elsewhere until the Cleveland Browns eventually bit the bullet in the fifth round.
Furthermore, Shilo Sanders’ act of hiring a proper agent and parting ways with Deion only adds credence to Florio’s report. It seems as though Dad gave his kids some bad and short-sighted advice leading up to the draft. Because of it, Shedeur and Shilo are going to struggle to earn their way into a starting position.
