“It’s near-sided”: CFB reporter takes Deion Sanders’ side as analyst calls out Coach Prime over Shedeur’s draft saga

Deion Sanders' son, Shedeur Sanders' draft slide, has dominated headlines since the NFL draft occurred in April. It came as a surprise to most when the highly rated quarterback slid down the draft board and was selected by the Cleveland Browns on Day 3.

Deion Sanders has since called out the negative pre-draft coverage that likely contributed to his son's monumental slide. However, analyst Jason Mcintyre called out the Buffaloes' head coach and insinuated that Deion Sanders was a main contributor to the saga surrounding his son.

CFB reporter Josina Anderson spotted Mcintyre's comments and came to Deion Sanders' defense. She wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter),

"Sanders free speech comments have nothing to do with any team personnel member already* entering this regular season on the hot seat from their own shortcomings, AND it will have nothing to do with actual game day team results. Every team will have to live with the players they took, and the ones they didn’t —when it comes to the final win-loss records."

Anderson continued,

"In real life, the comfort by these individuals to willingly torpedo Shedeur’s draft stock with more detrimental aspersions and innuendo about his comprehension-level and potential future play on the field in the name of self-preservation and public optics gamesmanship, should be illuminated again by season’s end. At the end of the day, that “observation” didn’t have to be shared with the media."

She concluded,

"Where’s the focus on that* intent in the commentary below? I say all this to say.. While this take is cute, it’s near-sided."

Andrews, like many in Sanders' camp, called out the anonymous sources and team personnel who had so much to say about Shedeur Sanders ahead of the NFL draft. It's hard to argue that comments from these anonymous individuals torpedoed Shedeur's draft stock.

While the NFL season has yet to begin, it has created an interesting subplot regarding how Sanders performs in comparison with the QBs selected ahead of him.

How many QBs were taken before Deion Sanders' son, Shedeur?

Five quarterbacks were selected before Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL draft: Cam Ward (Tennessee Titans), Jaxson Dart (New York Giants), Tyler Shough (New Orleans Saints), Jalen Milroe (Seattle Seahawks) and Dillon Gabriel (Cleveland Browns).

Shedeur Sanders was initially projected to be the second (or third) QB off the board in this year's draft. It was only Cam Ward that seemed primed to be off the board before the Colorado Buffaloes star, so it was a major shock when he slid all the way to the fifth round.

Hence, Sanders has quite the chip on his shoulder entering his rookie season. He'll look to beat out competition from Gabriel and veteran QBs Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett in order to be the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in Year 1.