Deion Sanders' 'Eli Manning' Remark Reportedly Impacted Shedeur's Stock with NFL Teams

A comment made by Deion Sanders last year reportedly may have played a role in his son, Shedeur Sanders, dropping in the 2025 NFL draft.

Speaking Tuesday on the Scoop City podcast (beginning at the 8:50 mark), former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel went over the factors that contributed to Sanders' fall, and he specifically mentioned a Deion quote from March 2024:

"When you're viewed as more as a backup than a starter, the NFL talks, and the NFL says, 'Hey, you know what? All right, no one took him past the third round.' And I was flabbergasted. And then I'm like, OK, well, who wants a celebrity quarterback that will bring a circus media storm as a backup quarterback in there? And so that's what made the fall happen even more. And then also we go back to the Deion thing. I think he's doing the right thing for his son, but he hinted it over a year ago, OK, that he might pull an Eli for his son because his son's a top five guy in the draft. Do you think that went over well in draft rooms? Like, we don't have to have hot takes. This is just pure, simply stated facts. All these things are magnified when the talent doesn't exceed it. And that's what I thought this whole situation with Shedeur Sanders came down to was that sometimes teams don't simply want the spotlight and the possible distraction that comes with drafting a player as well-known as Shedeur Sanders. And I tried to think about what I wanted to say, but that is just the ultimate, like, that's not just coming from me. That's coming from coaches, that's coming from players, and that's what happens. Now the real work for Shedeur Sanders starts."

During an appearance last year on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast (h/t ESPN.com), Deion suggested that if Shedeur or his Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, didn't want to get picked by a specific team in the draft, "it's going to be an Eli."

That line was in reference to former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who made it clear leading up to the 2004 NFL draft that he didn't want to play for the then-San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers took Manning with the No. 1 overall pick anyway, but he was traded to the Giants that same day for No. 4 overall pick Philip Rivers and several additional draft picks.

Manning went on to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career in New York, leading the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl wins over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Deion is not only Shedeur's father, but he was also his head coach at Colorado and he is a Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, meaning his words carry a great deal of weight.

While Hunter went second overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars after winning the Heisman Trophy last season, Shedeur had a much longer wait.

Despite being considered a likely first-round pick and the second-best quarterback in the class behind only Miami's Cam Ward for much of the pre-draft process, Shedeur didn't get taken until Day 3.

He watched as Ward and Jaxson Dart went in the first round, Tyler Shough went in the second round and Jalen Milroe and Dillon Gabriel went in the third round.

Sanders' wait finally ended when the Browns took him with the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round.

Daniel expressed his belief that Deion making the Eli comment didn't go over well in draft rooms, nor did the idea of a backup quarterback bringing a "circus media storm" to the team that drafts him.

If that wasn't enough, there were also reports prior to the draft that questioned Shedeur's attitude and professionalism.

NFL insider Josina Anderson reported that an NFL quarterbacks coach believed Sanders came across as "brash" and "arrogant" during pre-draft interviews, while NFL draft insider Todd McShay reported that some teams felt he did not take a "professional approach" to the interviews.

Sanders was highly productive in college and won the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Award last season, but he wasn't without some on-field question marks, specifically a lack of high-end mobility and a propensity for taking too many sacks.

The draft free fall likely happened due to numerous reasons both on and off the field, but in the end, Sanders still ended up in a favorable spot.

In Cleveland, assuming Deshaun Watson misses the entire 2025 season due to a torn Achilles, Sanders is set to compete for the starting job with Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Gabriel.

It is well within the range of outcomes that Sanders could win that battle, which would perhaps go a long way toward erasing some of the narratives that emerged about him leading up to and during the draft.