Few NFL draft analysts were more surprised at the fall of former Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders than ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.<\/p>\n
Even fewer were more vocal than Kiper at calling out NFL teams for passing on the superstar quarterback and son of legendary player Deion Sanders. Kiper, who had Sanders as the No. 1 quarterback prospect, believed he should have been the first quarterback off the board instead of Cam Ward, who went to the Tennessee Titans with the No. 1 pick.<\/p>\n
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A few weeks after the draft, Miami coach Mario Cristobal said he spoke to “a million people” about Ward, but Kiper wasn’t one of them.\u00a0\u201cNever heard from him,\u201d Cristobal said, via Brett McMurphy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever talked to him,” he added before going on to discuss if Ward was disappointed that Kiper “stepped” on his draft night by talking about Sanders after he was drafted by the Titans. “The only reason I would be disappointed, was if Cam was,” he said, “but knowing Cam, he just wanted to hear the name and exactly where he was going and get to work\u201d<\/p>\n It didn’t take long for McMurphy’s conversation with Cristobal to hit social media and eventually catch the attention of Kiper, who responded with a clear statement of his own.<\/p>\n “Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didn\u2019t speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts. Interesting isn\u2019t it. And oh by the way, I didn\u2019t speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I need another Orange Crush after this nonsense,” Kiper said in response on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Kiper’s message caught the attention of Deion Sanders, who offered love and support for the ESPN analyst after his defense of his quarterback son as he was falling in the draft.<\/p>\n “But I Love u my man! You stood on the desk with great balance 10 toes down and said what u doggone said & didn\u2019t flinch. You knew what time it was my man & we\u2019re blessed to be right where God wanted us to be. ‘With OPPORTUNITY’ they forgot I was in the tv\/entertainment business for 20 years before coaching,” Sanders said<\/a> in response to the love from Kiper to his son on draft night.<\/p>\n The Cleveland Browns eventually traded up in the fifth round to select Sanders.<\/p>\n