Deion Sanders watched both of his sons take gut punches during the 2025 NFL Draft. Shedeur, once a projected first-rounder, tumbled all the way to the 144th pick. Shilo didn’t hear his name called at all. And for all the numbers Shedeur stacked in college, it wasn’t his film that dragged him down. It was perception. Suddenly, confidence became arrogance. Swagger became a problem. Whispers about his interviews, stories about headphones in meetings, and claims of being “unprepared” took over the conversation. And for a father who’s coached every down of his son’s college career, it felt like watching a narrative be written by people who never stepped into their huddle.
“It did hurt,” Sanders said recently on Asante Samuel’s Say What Needs To Be Said podcast. “There was some foolish stuff that went on… but it gave them the edge they needed.” He went on to say, “When you sit up there and say something like, ‘He went in a meeting unprepared.’ Like, dude, Shedeur Sanders, who has had six different coordinators, who has still functioned and went up — leveled up — every time we brought somebody new in and you’re going to tell me he had on headphones.”
Discussing it on The Pivot Podcast, Ryan backed Deion Sanders’ reaction and expressed his frustration with the entire narrative that influenced Shedeur Sanders’ draft fate. And Coach Prime made sure he acknowledged Ryan’s support, taking to X to express his gratitude with a heartfelt message that reads, “Amen, my brother, amen.” Well, this gratitude makes sense. Why? Because Ryan Clark exposed the NFL’s double standards, highlighting how the evaluation was never about Shedeur’s caliber, but rather about a notion that could never be proven.
Amen my brother Amen
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) June 7, 2025
“Now it’s not about the actual evaluation… it was the chatter, it was the conversation around him. So many things about Shedeur during the draft process, were character, character, character, personality, personality, personality, and all these things that we can’t prove on the outside, right? But me, hey, maybe he doesn’t have the speed to extend place. Maybe he doesn’t have the rocket arm, like some of these dudes, but every report was about something we couldn’t refute, also something folks couldn’t prove,” Clark said. That’s right, it was never about Shedeur’s records on the field, which sit high with 14,353 yards and 134 TDs with a 70% completion rate during his college career, but about how he is off it.
And that’s what became Deion Sanders’ helplessness of not being able to support his kids. On one side, Shedeur was dealing with all the trash talk, and at the same time, Shilo Sanders’ draft fate also took an ugly turn. As he went undrafted into the league, he was later acquired by the Buccaneers. “I feel like Deion’s hurt also comes from him always being able to take care of his kids as a father and having a little bit of a feeling that some of this is because of me, and I can’t take it away from him. You know how it is as dads, man; it’s like you want all the good for your kids and none of the bad, and then when anything’s bad, that’s why kids cry, right?” Ryan highlighted. “And Deion finally got to a point where he was like, damn, I can’t do it. And I think that’s difficult to do.”
But looks like things are finally working in Sanders’ favour.
Deion Sanders’ ‘hurting’ might finally end
Despite being a fifth-round pick (144th overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders is generating significant buzz. Many experts saw him as a higher prospect. Now with the Cleveland Browns, he’s competing with veteran Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel (a third-round pick). With Deshaun Watson sidelined by a re-ruptured Achilles tendon surgery, Sanders might finally get a chance to shine. At least his rookie camp translates a similar notion.
But Shedeur Sanders’s camp moves are already generating a lot of buzz. As ESPN Cleveland’s Aaron Goldhammer shared his strong endorsement of Sanders’ potential to be the Browns’ starter. “I have come to a realization, oh boy, by the time we get to September… I think there’s a way Shedeur Sanders starts the first game,” Goldhammer said. Aaron didn’t just praise Sanders’ practice performances but also made a bold admission: “Now that I’ve seen some videos and talked to a bunch of people and multiple practices, I think Shedeur Sanders was the best quarterback out there yesterday.”
Well, despite the buzz around Shedeur Sanders, the competition still remains fierce as veteran Joe Flacco holds a lead in the quarterback race, as per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, “Flacco throws the ball in a practice setting better than any of them. Add his overall experience, and he’s the favorite to win the job…” Meanwhile, rookie Kenny Pickett’s struggles in practice highlight Sanders’ impressive performances, solidifying his chances even more, as the Browns prepare for training camp. It looks like things might finally turn in Shedeur Sanders’ favor!
The post ‘Hurt’ Deion Sanders Sends 4-Word Powerful Response to Ryan Clark After NFL’s Ugly Shedeur Sanders Agenda Exposed appeared first on EssentiallySports.
