"He was not expected to succeed" - Nick Wright comes to Shedeur Sanders' defense amid criticism of Colorado star

It is draft season, and top prospects like Shedeur Sanders are being scrutinized. Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright wants to remind everyone that Sanders has already exceeded expectations just by being here.

On Monday's episode of Fox Sports morning show "First Things First, co-host Nick Wright stood up for Sanders against claims that he is arrogant.

“I think the confidence is super important," Wright said. "I don't look at that as brash or arrogant. I look at him as, you know what I mean, a self-assured young man who has succeeded everywhere he's gone.”

Nick Wright also reminded everyone that Sanders was not a highly recruited prospect out of high school that was always meant to go high in the NFL draft.

“And unlike a lot of highly touted guys who have a chance to go in the top five, he was not expected to succeed at every level,” he said.

Shedeur Sanders was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was the 37th-ranked quarterback, behind the likes of Quinn Ewers, last year’s No. 1 pick Caleb Williams and first-round picks last year, New England's Drake Maye and Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy.

He initially chose to play for Florida Atlantic University but then flipped when his father, Deion Sanders, was named Jackson State University coach. Shedeur would then follow Deion to Colorado in 2023 to turn around a 1-10 program to a 9-4 team in two years.

This rise to the top impressed Nick Wright.

“As far as your sports career, you were the best player on the best team in high school and then college," Wright said. "That's not his story. So I like all of that.”

Nick Wright still has doubts about Shedeur Sanders’ on-field play

Despite standing up for Shedeur Sanders, Nick Wright still has questions about his on-field play:

“I don't love the tape as much as other people do. I just don’t know if he is a plug-and-play instant impact player. My concerns with him are all football-related.”

Wright's concerns may also resonate with NFL teams. Although he is an accurate passer, he lacks the world-class arm strength of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He also lacks elite athletic traits that can help him in scrambling passing situations.

The analyst also added that he expects either the New York Giants at pick No. 3 or the Las Vegas Raiders at pick No. 6 to draft Sanders.