Shedeur Sanders’ slide from a projected first-round pick to an eventual fifth-round selection proved to be the most polarizing topic of the NFL Draft over the weekend.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. was one of the staunch defenders of Sanders and was shocked over his fall to the Cleveland Browns. The annoyed broadcaster teed off on teams after Sanders was picked, and it led to a clash between him and fellow colleague Rece Davis.
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NFL analyst Louis Riddick explained to Kiper that the question wasn’t about whether Sanders could play quarterback but, from a team perspective, whether they want him to play the position.
Kiper, perplexed, couldn’t understand why a team wouldn’t want Sanders, considering that he’s "one of the toughest quarterbacks you’ve ever seen." Riddick responded, "This is personal," about the reason why Sanders fell. Kiper added that Sanders hasn’t had an "off-the-field issue."
Davis then agreed with Riddick when he said that the "draft has spoken."
"That’s the key, Mel. It’s not putting a value judgment who passed were right or wrong. They did. So, now, whenever you’re in circumstances in life, whether you like them, whether you don’t like them, whether they’re fair or whether they’re unfair, you might have to deal with them," Davis said. "And now Shedeur Sanders has to deal with them.
NFL INVESTIGATING HOW SHEDEUR SANDERS' PHONE NUMBER WAS LEAKED FOR PRANK CALL DURING DRAFT
"And for whatever reason, whether he played a minute, microscopic percentage, zero percentage, or it’s a legitimate criticism of the way he conducted himself during the draft process, this was the result. Now he has an opportunity to answer it. I think yelling at the NFL about it is not productive."
Kiper put the onus on the league for its lack of proper evaluation when it came to quarterbacks.
"Boomer Esiason was not happy when he was a second-round pick," Kiper said. "Tom Brady was not happy. They dropped. How’d they turn out? My point is, Rece, the NFL has been clueless for 50 years when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks. Clueless.
"They have no idea what they’re doing in terms of evaluating quarterbacks. That’s proof. There’s proof of that. They can say, ‘We know exactly what we’re talking about with quarterbacks.’ They don’t."
The debate continued from there as Kiper defended Sanders for exuding confidence ahead of the draft.
The Browns made Sanders the No. 144 pick of the NFL Draft.
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