“He’s a hard-working kid”: CFB fans disagree with Jason Whitlock’s comparison of Shedeur Sanders and Johnny Manziel

Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion Sanders, faced scrutiny over his attitude following the NFL Scouting Combine. A top team's coach reportedly expressed concerns about his behavior.

Some analysts predict this will lower his draft stock, while others, like ESPN's Ryan Clark, said the criticism surrounding the Colorado quarterback is due to his skin color.

Analyst Jason Whitlock shared his opinion about this narrative, comparing the situation to Johnny Manziel and criticizing his attitude on Thursday's edition of his podcast.

"We all know that if a white quarterback, there were questions about his arrogance or his attitude, if he were, let's say Johnny Manziel, Johnny Football. If Shedeur, who carries himself exactly like Manziel and people have all kinds of questions about Manziel's attitude and arrogance and whether or not he was self-aware enough, those questions are all perfectly fine."

Reacting to this, one fan said,

"Shedeur isn’t Manziel. He’s a hard-working kid, who’s father drilled that work ethic into him."

A fan discussed the disparity in the football world.

"Manziel did nothing wrong people just hated him. people said he partied too much, i said uhh, gronk? are we serious? they said oh gronk has won so it's ok.. theres always an excuse for double standards." another fan added.

"Did you compare Manziel to shedeur guy who was arrested and was openly doing drugs. Just because sanders wore jewelry minds most NFL players wear. He flashed his watch. It doesn't make him arrogant and cocky. Most players that high are confident," another fan said.

A fan compared Sanders' achievements were compared to Manziel's.

"Johnny beat Alabama with Mike Evans. Sanders and Hunter never had a win like that."

CFB analyst makes a bold case for Shedeur Sanders' on-field skills

The Colorado star, Shedeur Sanders, was predicted to be one of the top three picks in the 2025 NFL draft, but his stock has been reduced, with some projecting him to go at the sixth overall and even in the second round.

However, NFL draft analyst Thor Nystrom strongly disagreed with the narrative where people said Shedeur Sanders holds onto the ball for too long and is not as great as the Miami Hurricanes' Cam Ward.

Nystrom highlighted how Shedeur proved his abilities when he played behind a "Swiss cheese "offensive line in 2023.