"He threw us right into the fire" - Shedeur Sanders makes feelings known on Deion Sanders cultivating "dawg mentality" in him

While Colorado's Shedeur Sanders isn't throwing at the NFL Combine, he has been taking interviews and speaking with NFL teams, with the draft around the corner.

Sanders, a consensus top-2 quarterback in this year's class, has been projected to land between No. 3 with the New York Giants and at No. 7 with the New York Jets, who cut ties with Aaron Rodgers last month.

Sanders has had multiple opportunites to wow scouts. but, at the combine, the Colorado QB made a statement with his mindset ahead of the draft.

In an interview with Pro Football Talk in Indianapolis, Sanders once again shone the spotlight on what makes him unique and the role his father Deion Sanders played in cultivating his mentality.

"My dad had us grow up privileged a little bit, all up until one point. Then he moved us to the inner city. That's what got us that dawg mentality. That's what got us do or die, you got to make it out," Sanders said.

"He threw us right into the fire, you know. So from then on, that's how we were able to relate, be able to talk to different people, be able to relate to all these different type of people. And then, from then on, it was just always a leader aspect."

---

How low could Shedeur Sanders potentially slide in the 2025 NFL Draft?

NFL: Super Bowl LIX-NFL Honors Red Carpet - Source: Imagn

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s pre-Combine mock draft raised more than a few eyebrows after he projected that Sanders would slide past the Cleveland Browns (#2), New York Giants (#3) and the Las Vegas Raiders (#6) to land with the New York Jets as Aaron Rodgers' successor.

Over the last couple of months, Sanders himself has expressed outrage at mock drafts projecting a slide even as far as No. 6 with Tom Brady's Raiders despite the fact that the seven-time Super Bowl champion has been somewhat of a mentor to him.

Sportskeeda insider Tony Pauline is a little higher on Sanders. In his latest mock draft, Pauline sees him landing with the New York Giants to kick off a new era of football.

The prospect of Sanders sliding down the draft order appears to be a bit more unrealistic after the Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford came to an agreement to keep the Super Bowl-winning QB in the City of Angels.

With Stafford unavailable, QB-needy teams will likely turn their attention once again to the draft, but the Raiders will be more than happy if Sanders falls into their laps when they're on the clock.

Sanders ended the 2024 College Football season with 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, in what was a career year for the young signal-caller.