Based on reports leading up to the draft, it didn’t sound like many expected the Raiders to draft Shedeur Sanders in the first round.
But it was a little surprising, with Tom Brady now filling an ownership chair in the Raiders’ building, that Sanders fell to the fifth round. And for their part, Brady and the decision makers in Las Vegas seemed content to let Sanders keep sliding in the draft.
Brady has a known relationship with Deion Sanders, and going back to last year, it seemed a lot like Deion wanted his son playing for Brady in Las Vegas.
Brady stated publicly that he had nothing to do with the Raiders decision to pass on Shedeur, but there aren’t many free-thinking minds around the league buying that notion.
We might never know what the Raiders really thought of Sanders, but Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer talked last month about the issues the New York Giants had with the Colorado star.
“The Giants… they give players an install, and there are mistakes intentionally put in the install. He didn’t catch them and got called on it, and it didn’t go well after that… He was pissed that they did that to him,” Breer said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak and Bertrand.
“He throws a bad interception. It was a deep throw early in the game,” Breer continued. “They go in the meeting, they show the interception, and they say, ‘What happened here?’ [Sanders responded] ‘Well, I like to get into a rhythm earlier in the game.’”
“They get into it over that, and his conclusion is, ‘Well, maybe I’m not a fit for you…’ The person who told me that story was like, ‘I’ve never heard that before.’ It was in a combine interview when you’re just going from team to team trying to put your best foot forward.”
Unfortunately for Sanders, the situation he landed in with the Cleveland Browns isn’t great and there is reason to believe the organization wasn’t on the same page in their decision to draft him.
To his credit, though, Sanders hasn’t sought the spotlight in Cleveland, but there’s no question the Browns are going to feel the pressure to get him on the field sooner than later. There’s a good chance that’s what ownership wants, and the fans are already energized by Shedeur’s presence.
Raider Nation Radio host ‘JT the Brick’ called out the Giants and the Browns prior to the draft, appealing to both teams to draft Shedeur, and the same logic should apply to the Raiders down the road if Shedeur’s career takes off in the NFL.
If it ends up that Shedeur’s pro career is a bust, then credit belongs to GM John Spytek (yes, Tom Brady, too) and all the teams around the league that made the decision to steer clear of Shedeur in the draft.
As it stands, it’s a crowded quarterback room in Cleveland, but with uncertainty around Deshaun Watson’s future with the team and no long-term QB options in the building other than Dillon Gabriel, there’s a path to the top of the Browns’ depth chart at quarterback.
For their part, the Raiders haven’t been aggressive at the quarterback position since trading for Geno Smith, and every indication is that head coach Pete Carroll is fully committed to Smith.
The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar was one of those covering Carroll in Seattle and he shared a couple of interesting insights in March about Carroll’s coaching methods and his affinity for Smith.
“Pete knows Geno and probably believes in Geno more than anyone outside of Geno’s immediate family. The way Pete talks about Geno is the way I talk about my daughter. Pete really loves this dude,” Dugar said on the Just Win podcast.
“At some point last year, he was like, ‘Geno is one of my favorite stories. He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached.’ Pete has been coaching since the 70s. For Geno to rank that high, that means a lot.”
x: @raidersbeat
“Sanders hasn’t sought the spotlight.” Going a 100 mph in the middle of the night.
JT the Brick is a Giants fan by his own admission, no doubt he lobbied for Sanders to the Giants. Kid is a good Quarterback just immature and too busy feeling self, he thinks he is the $h*z. The NFL is already humbling him though and testing him to see what he is really made of, no scholarships in Cleveland. Everyone talks smack until it is time to prove it, prove it he must and fast. Not a lot of second and third chances for a 5th round pick. S.I. should just go into politics and stop pretending they offer any take away of value. All S.I.’s writers run apologetics for the teams they cover and offer no substance, just that teams company line and B.S. Honda Carpetbagger is the worst offender, just regurgitating tweets as “articles,” it is piss poor and lazy.
The Raiders will win eight games perhaps nine if they overacheive this year, the secondary will be a project for next year if we are to improve on this. Raider On Nation!
Truth!
Another great headline 🤮
Nobody wants a spoil premadonna!!!!