Publicly, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and those close to him are saying they’re fine with Sanders being drafted by any team at any time.
Privately, it might be a different story.
Via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, ESPN’s Louis Riddick said on Wednesday that he believes Sanders doesn’t want to be drafted by any of the teams currently holding the top three picks: the Titans, Browns, and Giants.
It’s not some random observation. There’s a relationship between Riddick and Shedeur’s father, Deion. For example, Deion publicly supported Riddick when he was a candidate to become the next G.M. of the Jets.
“I hope he doesn’t go in the top three picks,” Riddick said regarding Shedeur on First Take. “I hope he doesn’t. And I think his camp would tell you the same thing. There are other teams they want to go to.”
Cabot spoke to Riddick later in the day. “In some respects, there are other teams that I hope he goes to, that I think would be good fits for him,” Riddick told Cabot. “I do feel that way. I do feel like him going to a place like New Orleans or going to a place like Pittsburgh or Las Vegas, I think they would be very good fits for him.”
Riddick thinks Deion sees things the same way.
“He knows that every kid, every parent wants to be drafted as high as possible, but sometimes if you do slide — and I’m not saying that he is or isn’t, I don’t know what’s going to happen — but if he does slide, it’s not the end of the world,” Riddick told Cabot. “It could wind up being better for you. That’s the point.”
Players absolutely should have more control over their initial NFL destinations. In every other industry, the employee picks his or her company and location. In pro sports, however, the player has no choice but to submit to the “honor and privilege” of being told where to live and where to work and who to work with.
But taking a stand is rare. It hasn’t happened in the age of social media. Fans wouldn’t react well, because most have been brainwashed into treating the draft like a sorting-hat spectacle with the player simply along for a ride that will be determined by the whims of fate.
For Shedeur, it likely doesn’t matter. Most believe he won’t be taken in the top three. The window possibly opens with the Raiders at six, intensifies with the Saints at nine, and closes (most likely) at 21, when the Steelers select.
Our guess? If he slips past the Saints, someone will trade up into the teens to get him.
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