Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been main topic of conversation after NFL insider Josina Anderson reported that an assistant coach on an NFL team with a top-seven pick in the 2025 NFL Draft viewed Sanders as “arrogant” during his interviews and meetings at the NFL Combine.
While this perception of the Colorado quarterback is certainly not a consensus around the league, many members of the media have come to Sanders’ defense, including ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday’s episode of First Take.
“I’m trying to remain composed and not really be as angry as I want to be. I’m fuming inside right now. What is he supposed to be as a quarterback entering the NFL? You can’t be insecure and still succeed. You can’t have doubts about your abilities and be successful as a quarterback in the NFL. If I know that, every single executive knows you have to have confidence. He has a resume that validates and backs up his confidence,” said Smith.
While Smith might be known to play up an argument for the cameras, he brings up a valid point around Sanders’ confidence. Would an NFL coach prefer a timid an insecure quarterback instead? The ESPN personality also questioned why people are questioning Sanders’ character when he does not seem to have a disciplinary history.
“So, I’m getting angry because a young black man, highly successful, highly accomplished, and incomparable and incredible pedigree is entering the NFL, is considered easily one of the top two quarterbacks entering the NFL Draft. We ain’t hearing about his lack of mobility, lack of arm strength, whether or not he can make the requisite throws,” Smith continued. “We’re hearing about his attitude. Hasn’t been in trouble. Ever found himself in any kind of trouble?”
Smith suggested that the former Colorado quarterback is receiving hate because of the high-profile nature of his father, Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders. Nicknamed “Prime Time,” Deion has been in the spotlight since his time with the Florida State Seminoles, and the doubters have followed him throughout his career and even perhaps through to his family, as Smith implied.
ESPN’s Kimberly A. Martin appeared alongside Smith on First Take, and she referenced Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield as an example. Despite being arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct as well as other on-field shenanigans, the Cleveland Browns still selected Baker with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward and Sanders are considered to be the top-two signal-callers available in the draft, but is the media holding Ward to the same standard as Sanders?
Ward recently spoke to The Associated Press at the Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner before he was honored as the top quarterback in college football from the 2024 season, and he issued a warning to the NFL teams that might pass over him in the draft.
“OK, you’re either going to draft me or you’re not,” Ward said. “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.”
The moral of the story seems to be that confidence is key for quarterbacks. Is there such thing as too much?
The NFL Draft begins on April 24, and the Tennessee Titans hold the No. 1 overall pick. Behind them are the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 and the New York Giants at No. 3. Will Shedeur Sanders be a top-three pick?
