As the Colorado Buffaloes celebrate a bounce-back season, head coach Deion Sanders is already looking ahead to the NFL futures of his two star players: quarterback (and son) Shedeur Sanders and versatile playmaker Travis Hunter.
The Buffs have rebounded from their last-place finish in the Pac-12 last season, and a large part of that success stems from the talent of Shedeur and Hunter.
Both are widely expected to be early selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Deion wants to ensure they land with organizations capable of maximizing their potential.
Appearing on FS1’s Speak, Deion confirmed that he intends to be involved in where his son Shedeur and Hunter might end up but emphasized he would handle it “privately.”
“Yeah, but I’m not gonna do it publicly,” Deion said when he was asked if he would step in to make sure Shedeur doesn’t go to an organization he doesn’t approve of. “I’d do it privately. And with Travis [Hunter] as well.”
Deion outlined specific attributes he and Shedeur value in a prospective NFL team, noting that the organization’s overall structure and track record in handling young quarterbacks matter most.
“Somebody that can handle the quarterback that he is,” Deion said. “Somebody that can handle understanding what he’s capable of. Someone that has had success in the past handling quarterbacks or someone in an organization understands what they’re doing, not just throwing you out there amongst the wolves if you don’t have the support and the infrastructure of the team.
“Forget the line, he’s played with lines that haven’t been great, but he’s been able to do his thing, but just the infrastructure of the team, the direction of where we’re going.”
The coach previously hinted at a preference for warmer climates, particularly for Shedeur, who grew up in Texas and has yet to play in a consistently cold environment.
“Like, I don’t want my kid [Shedeur] going nowhere cold next year. He grew up in Texas. He played in Jackson, played in Colorado. Season’s over before it gets cold in Colorado. I’m just thinking way ahead. I don’t want that for him.”
On the “Million Dollars Worth of Game” podcast, Deion also shared his vision for his players’ draft prospects, predicting both Shedeur and Hunter would be selected among the top four picks.
“Top four, anywhere from one to four. One of them is going to be one and the latter one would not go behind four. Now, all of this is subjective because I know where I kind of want them to go,” he said.
“There are certain cities where it ain’t going to happen. It’s going to be an Eli,” he added, referring to how the Manning family handled Eli’s situation heading into the 2004 NFL Draft.
Deion has been accused of flip-flopping on this overall issue. Despite stating that he wouldn’t allow certain teams to draft Shedeur or Hunter, he attempted to backtrack and claim that he wouldn’t cause a problem.
“I don’t know who reported that I said there were several teams that my kids wasn’t going to. Whoever did that is a liar. That’s stupid. And I like to track that. I like to track that stuff down and hold people accountable in the media,” he said.
“Like they should not be able to tweet a text or something like they put some stupid out like that. That was, I don’t know who, who ran with that. Who was the first one who reported that?”
When asked directly if he’d restrict teams from drafting Shedeur or Hunter, Deion responded with more frustration.
“Who said that, and did you see me say that?” he asked. “One thing about a lie? A lie is so fast it can outrun the truth any day. That’s a bold-faced lie. That’s a stupid lie. I have more than six owners that are friends. I have more than six GMs that are friends.
“You’ve got to understand, I played 14 (pro seasons). And I worked another 17, I believe, in the NFL, NFL Network and CBS. I know a lot of people, c’mon.”
For what it’s worth, Shedeur also admitted that he’d be a bad fit for certain teams.
On Shedeur’s “2Legendary” podcast, soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic (of all people) asked the quarterback what NFL team he wants to draft him.
“Nah, I can’t say it, but it’s a couple teams for sure,” he responded. “It’s a couple [of] teams that will fit the situation and everything. And you gotta understand it’s a couple teams that don’t like the personality, that don’t like dad, and don’t like everything like that. So, it is what it is.”
Some talent evaluators are worried that Shedeur’s small size will prevent him from becoming an elite quarterback in the NFL. Having said that, he’s playing great this season and will most likely be a very high pick come April.
However, it’s clear that any team that brings Shedeur aboard will unfortunately have to deal with Deion as well.
What are your thoughts on the whole situation? … Is Deion hurting his son (and Hunter) by being so controlling???