NFL draft analyst makes his opinion clear on whether Deion & Shedeur Sanders could pull an Archie & Eli Manning in Draft 2025

No. 16-ranked Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders is projected to be one of the top quarterbacks drafted in the 2025 NFL draft. Although he is not expected to go first overall, he is often in the top five of mock drafts.

Since Shedeur has a Hall of Fame father for a coach (Deion Sanders), there has been speculation that he could pull the same move Archie and Eli Manning did before Eli's draft in 2004.

Ahead of the 2004 NFL draft, Eli Manning was the most coveted player and expected to go first overall. The San Diego Chargers had the first overall pick and were interested in drafting him. However, Eli and Archie Manning stated that if the Chargers drafted him, he would refuse to play for them.

Although the Chargers drafted Eli, they had a trade setup with the New York Giants to immediately send him there. Now there is talk that Deion and Shedeur Sanders could have a similar approach to the draft. NFL draft analyst Matt Miller spoke about this possibility on Friday on DraftKings Network.

"I think they could if they have to. You know we saw this last year with Marvin Harrison and Marvin Harrison Jr. He said, 'Yeah, I'm not doing the combine and I'm also not doing a pro day.' They control that situation and it worked out well. He was still drafted very highly.

"So I think we'll see Deion get involved if he has to. If a team lands that first overall pick like the San Diego Chargers did back in 2004 where Archie had to step in and say, 'Don't draft my guy, we're not going there,' I think that's a situation where we could see Deion get involved."

Matt Miller says some players like Shedeur Sanders have the leverage to control their draft

Deion Sanders did not hesitate to control his draft when he was younger. Miller continued the discussion, recalling:

"This is the guy who famously raised his hand and asked, 'What pick do you have?' The Giants answer like pick nine, and he's like, 'Well, I'll be gone by then' and left. So it's not like he hasn't controlled his own draft process before, at least as far as the lore of Deion Sanders goes."

He also talked about how some players have more leverage to control their destiny. Since Shedeur Sanders has a Hall of Fame father who is also a premier head coach, he has more leverage than other players.