"It's because he's a Sanders": Super Bowl champ leaps to Shedeur Sanders' defense amid growing hate

Shedeur Sanders is the type of player that fans either strongly dislike or back wholeheartedly. The Colorado quarterback operates with the sort of confidence that only Deion Sanders' son could, and there's a contingent of gridiron viewers that don't like that very much.

Talking on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" on Monday, former NFL receiver and Super Bowl champion Isaiah Stanback defended Sanders' confident nature.

"People are just looking for a reason to hate on Shedeur Sanders, and it's because he's a Sanders," Stanback said. "The reality is everybody would be okay with his confidence, everybody would be okay with how he speaks if he wasn't a quarterback. ... If he was a defensive back, (it would be,) 'Oh, that's how how defensive backs are. They're confident.'

"Why is it a problem just because he's a quarterback. This is something that is not of the norm, and it's ruffling people's feathers. And people don't like confident people who back up what they say. That is exactly who Shedeur Sanders is. That's exactly who he's been, and I could believe that that's exactly what he's gonna be in the league."

Stanback isn't the only former NFL player to back Sanders. LeSean McCoy pushed back against an anonymous professional quarterbacks coach who disparaged Sanders by calling him arrogant earlier in the pre-draft process.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, you can say this to your coaches, your ownership, the GM, right?" McCoy said last month on Fox Sports' "The Facility." "But, why are you saying it to the media? Another thing is, like, I hate when people don't ever, like, put a name on it. Because who is really saying that?"

"It reminds me of coaches that probably was a quarterback, probably didn't play, right? Probably was a backup. Probably never went to the NFL, right? Probably wasn't secure of who he was, and guys that were superstars that had swagger to them, they call it arrogance. And he can't fit with them guys."

Why do fans think Shedeur Sanders is arrogant?

Shedeur Sanders got behind the microphone at the NFL Scouting Combine in February and explained the main reason why he believes he should be drafted early. He referred to the fact that, with Coach Prime, he helped boost Jackson State and Colorado — his two collegiate stops — into the national consciousness.

The Buffaloes were 1-11 the season before the Sanders family arrived in Boulder, and Shedeur Sanders displayed a level of grit and determination that would typically earn tons of respect. He was one of the nation's leading passers last season despite being consistently pressured and battered around by opposing defenses.

Confidence is usually something NFL teams value. It's interesting that it doesn't seem to be the case with Sanders.