Mel Kiper Jr. Responds to Mario Cristobal About Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders

On Wednesday, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said he spoke to a "million people" about ex-Hurricanes and now Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward but not ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., per Brett McMurphy of Action Network.

Kiper, whose staunch pro-Sanders stance was made apparent during ESPN's NFL draft coverage, responded to the remarks.

Kiper notably had Sanders fifth overall on his final big board, one spot ahead of Ward at No. 6. Ward ended up going first overall in the draft to the Tennessee Titans, while Sanders shockingly dropped to the fifth round at No. 144 overall to the Cleveland Browns.

Ward was by and large the No. 1 quarterback on big boards and mock drafts throughout the industry. The B/R NFL Scouting Department notably had him at QB1 (No. 9 overall). Sanders was at QB2 (No. 23 overall). The last consensus mock draft from B/R Mock Draft Database had Ward at No. 1 overall (QB1) and Sanders at No. 21 (QB2).

So Kiper was clearly higher on Sanders than most (if not all), although he clearly likes Ward a lot as well.

Ultimately, Sanders' fall to the fifth round stood as one of the draft's pre-eminent storylines. And as far as coverage went, Kiper's defense of Sanders throughout all three days and his incredulation on his fall stood out as well.

Sanders will get his shot to play, though, in Cleveland, a team that doesn't have a clear-cut No. 1 moving forward at QB. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported earlier Wednesday on The Rich Eisen Show that Sanders, rookie Dillon Gabriel and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett were all part of a "wide-open" competition, with Flacco seen as having the leg up at the moment.

So we'll see down the road if Kiper was right about Sanders. For now, though, a long offseason has to play out, giving Sanders a first opportunity to prove any naysayers wrong.