"He won't be a top 4 pick": When Cam Newton predicted Shedeur Sanders would flop in the NFL Draft

Colorado Buffaloes' resurgence in the 2024-25 season was orchestrated by coach Deion Sanders and his trusted weapons, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. While Hunter is considered a top pick in the upcoming draft by many pundits, a few experts have raised eyebrows about Sanders.

Sanders was originally predicted to be among the first three players off the board, but now that appears to be changing. Although Shedeur Sanders is confident about being selected in the first few picks, reports during the combine suggested scouts and NFL teams might not agree.

Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton shared his take on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast with Shannon Sharpe in April 2024. He felt Shedeur Sanders won't be a top-four pick, which was very much against the thinking at the time:

“If Prime can get Shedeur in Atlanta, let me tell you something, all businesses, including Magic City, will be appreciative of that damn pick right there. Real talk. So, these are the things that, but I don’t think he’ll be a top-four pick as he was on record as saying. And that’s fine.”

However, Newton further explained that getting drafted later can be a blessing in disguise as Shedeur will get to play alongside better receivers in a better team. The 2015 NFL MVP winner gave the example of Deshaun Watson, who was picked at 12th by the Houston Texans and then played with DeAndre Hopkins.

Newton further gave the example of Peyton Manning and stated that early picks in the draft are thrown into the game straight away, reducing the time and space for their growth and learning. He gave the example of Peyton Manning:

“Peyton Manning didn’t become good until after his second and third year. They threw him out there in the fire, but if Peyton Manning was drafted in this day and age of expectations, no, no, hell, haw.”

Cam Ward has long been expected to be the first quarterback off the board, with Shedeur Sanders generally seen as the second. Where he will go remains an open question.

Cam Newton revisited his Shedeur Sanders statement after a year

However, things have changed a little in the last year. During an appearance on his "4th & 1" podcast in March, Newton called Shedeur Sanders a top-five pick and supported his opinion to sit out of the combine:

"He's already a top 5 pick. He’s got more to lose than gain—so why even risk it?”

A year prior, Deion had hinted at pulling ‘an Eli’ on teams if Shedeur was picked by certain teams with poor management. This referenced Eli Manning, who was selected by the San Diego Chargers in 2004 and was traded during the same draft. However, Coach Prime has recently declared that his son is comfortable moving to any team that picks him up.