Shedeur Sanders‘ gorgeous fall down the draft board was rapidly attributed to a questionable ability set and/or a perceived lack of maturity. ESPN’s Stephen Holder points to one other concern amongst groups: the “circus” that will accompany a Sanders choice.
“Because the Shedeur Sanders saga performed out Friday, I used to be reminded of the times when Tim Tebow was a free agent and there have been claims his outward shows of religion have been being held in opposition to him. What truly occurred was extra nuanced. Groups have been reluctant to signal him due to the circus associated to his movie star (on a degree much like Sanders IMO), esp as a possible backup. A few of that’s occurring right here. Thursday’s fall was largely about expertise. Final night time was about one thing else.
“Downside is, this situation turns into extra pronounced the additional he falls. Any crew that picks him at this level might be doing so with the intent of getting Sanders as a backup. That’s going to be an attention-grabbing state of affairs to must handle.”
Holder is adamant that Sanders’ first-round snub was about expertise, however he believes his Day 2 absence was “about one thing else.” The reporter references Tim Tebow‘s free company, noting that groups have been cautious of the eye that naturally follows a “movie star” athlete. Sanders clearly isn’t a precise equal to Tebow, however the common Colorado star will now attract even more attention after abruptly dropping out of the primary two days of the draft.
Going into the draft, most consultants ranked Sanders because the second-best QB prospect, behind Cam Ward, who was chosen No. 1 total by the Titans. Few thought he would final past the primary spherical, and his slide previous the third spherical shocked the NFL would. He ended up getting chosen by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 144 total choose. It was particularly stunning to see the Browns seize Sanders, contemplating they drafted Dillon Gabriel on Friday.