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Deion Sanders Delivers Final Word on Shedeur Sanders’s NFL Draft Preferences

Kristen Wong

Screengrab on Twitter/ @ESPNCleveland
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Much of the chatter surrounding the 2025 NFL draft is focused on Colorado star Shedeur Sanders, one of this year's top quarterback prospects who could get taken off the board early in April.

Shedeur's dad, Deion, has made headlines in the past for admitting there were NFL teams he would and wouldn't want his son to play for. But, the Buffaloes coach recently cleared the air in a guest appearance on The Skip Bayless Show in which he hinted that Shedeur already had a destination in mind.

“Shedeur has told me, talked to me intently about all the visits he’s had with all the teams so I know where his heart is, I know where he wants to go,” Sanders said. “If it’s New York it’s New York, if it’s Tennessee, if it’s Cleveland, if it’s still the Raiders, if it’s New Orleans—if it’s any of those teams that are seeking a quarterback I’m happy with it, man. Because I know what he’s going to do to the organization.”

Skip Bayless then asked a more direct question about whether Deion was trying to orchestrate where Shedeur ends up in the NFL.

“No, no, no,” Coach Prime said. “Because that’s not God’s will right now. I want Shedeur to do what he’s consistently done: Excel against all odds. I like the hating, I like the naysaying, I like the ignorance because it makes us feel better about what we do and it gives him another chip on his shoulder.”

Many mocks have Shedeur going in the top 10 to quarterback-needy teams like the Titans and Browns but it's also wholly possible he slips farther down, especially after one team's QB coach called him "arrogant."

Wherever Shedeur lands next season, Deion appears perfectly content to support his son in the next chapter of his young football career.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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