NFL Draft: ESPN analyst says Shedeur Sanders gets criticized because of skin color

Shedeur Sanders is perhaps the most popular name in this year’s NFL Draft, but he isn’t exactly the most popular player to go No. 1.

After a long while of being the 1B to Cam Ward’s 1A, Sanders has continued to fall in most scouts’ eyes. In fact, it’s not too difficult to find some even saying that Jaxson Dart is ahead of Sanders in the quarterback rankings.

There is no question that Sanders is polarizing, and ESPN’s Ryan Clark noted that he’s heard the term “arrogant” floating around the quarterback.

“They plant these certain reports, and you do hear these certain things, and you hear the word ‘arrogant.’ Why is he arrogant? Because he won’t walk into the meeting and bend the knee, or he won’t sit in the meeting and question himself or his abilities or his knowledge and experience in the game. I don’t believe that’s arrogance – I want a quarterback that’s self-assured. I want a quarterback that can cut the film on, and when you ask him a certain question about ‘why did you make this mistake’ or ‘why did you make this throw’ or ‘why was this the right read,’ I want him to be able to regurgitate that to me like he’s in the play at the moment the same way a coach or offensive coordinator would, because that’s what he’s gonna have he to do. I’ve had conversations with Shedeur Sanders, and he can do that,” Clark said on Wednesday’s edition of “First Take.”

Of course, some of Sanders’ popularity stems from being the son of Hall of Famer Deion, who coached him throughout college at both Jackson State and Colorado. In some circles, that may be a detriment to his draft stock.

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But Clark added that his skin color may also be a concern to NFL teams.

“It’s not just about him being Deion Sanders’ son. It’s about the bravado he carries. It’s about the fact that he looks a certain way. It is about the fact that the color of his skin sometimes at the position can be questioned. And I believe Shedeur Sanders is going to have to deal with that until he gets on the field,” Clark said.

Sanders exuded confidence at the NFL Scouting Combine last month, saying that history would “repeat itself” with him.

“We went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back-to-back. You don’t think I could come to an NFL franchise and change a program again? It’s history, it’s always going to repeat itself,” Sanders said. 

“If you ain’t trying to change the franchise or the culture, don’t get me. So, you should know history repeats itself over and over and over, and I’ve done it over and over, so it should be no question why NFL franchises should pick me.”

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