If you watched the 2025 NFL Draft, you are likely well aware of the fact that Mel Kiper Jr. was outraged throughout the vast majority of the event as teams continuously passed on Shedeur Sanders. And while most found Kiper\u2019s passion as a bit over the top and repetitive, his ESPN colleague Michael Wilbon believes that he was spot on in his assessment.<\/p>\n
Wilbon discussed Sanders\u2019 historic draft slide on Monday\u2019s edition of Pardon the Interruption, sharing Kiper\u2019s opinion<\/a> that the only explanation for him falling as far as he did was that there was some sort of personal vendetta from organizations in the NFL \u00a0towards the Sanders family.<\/p>\n \u201cShedeur Sanders being on that board in the fifth round was a joke,\u201d said Wilbon. \u201cIt\u2019s a travesty. I\u2019m not saying he has to go in the first. But don\u2019t tell me that everybody in the draft is better than Shedeur Sanders. Because I\u2019ve watched the damn games. I\u2019ve watched the Colorado games. I don\u2019t just need to just review film and take the scouts\u2019 word for it. And even if we take their word for it, they all had him ranked much, much, much higher than this. Mel Kiper got this right when he said this was personal. This is not about football. This was personal. Because people looked at Shedeur Sanders for a lot of reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cIn different rounds, different teams looked at him differently. And they said, \u2018We find him undesirable. We don\u2019t want him.\u2019 It is personal. And you know what happens in the NFL, where the word distraction is a four-letter word, and every coach and every executive can utter (the word) distraction. They just don\u2019t have the guts ever in the NFL to come out and say that someone is a distraction. And they didn\u2019t want the distraction that they think Shedeur Sanders and the entire Sanders family was going to become. They don\u2019t have the stones in the NFL to ever say that out loud. So they hide behind other garbage. It was personal, and it was awkward to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShedeur Sanders being on that board in the fifth round was a joke. It\u2019s a travesty\u2026 Don\u2019t tell me that everybody in the draft is better than Shedeur Sanders, because I watched the damn games\u2026 Mel Kiper got this right when he said later this is personal\u2026\u201d \u2013 Michael Wilbon pic.twitter.com\/ZLE75Ujayk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Based on talent alone, it is hard to argue that Sanders deserved to be a fifth-round pick. But , as Wilbon alluded to, there was likely more at play, such as the reports ahead of the draft that Sanders was far from impressive during pre-draft meetings<\/a> with teams.<\/p>\n Add in the potential headache that comes along with Sanders, most notably the influence that Deion Sanders may have on his son\u2019s career, and it\u2019s easy to see why teams wouldn\u2019t be all that interested in handing the reins over to Shedeur.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s fair or not, Sanders\u2019 baggage cost him a ton of money in the 2025 NFL Draft. So moving forward, it will be on him to make that money back by impressing the Browns coaching staff, earning the starting job in Cleveland, and earning a second deal in the NFL.<\/p>\n \t