NFL analyst claims Shedeur Sanders could run to Coach Prime if Aaron Rodgers were to mentor him poorly

Shedeur Sanders and Aaron Rodgers would be Pitsburgh Steelers in a dream scenario, with Shedeur learning the nuances of the game from Rodgers. But should this mentor-mentee relationship not go as well as hoped, analyst Chris Simms sees a fallback.

On Wednesday's episode of NBC's Pro Football Talk, the former quarterback-turned-analyst suggested that the Colorado Buffaloes prospect could turn to his Hall-of-Fame father Deion should the multiple-time MVP's teachings prove a poor fit for him (from 2:48 onwards)

"I do think (Rodgers) would be valuable to Shedeur Sanders, and Shedeur has another card to protect him against a situation like you're talking about. ... It's called 'My dad's the freaking man, and if you treat me like crap, everybody's gonna know about it, and we're all gonna then all the people that think you're crappy already just gonna see he is crap.'"

Sticking to the relationship between Shedeur and Deion, another former quarterback, Robert Griffin III, condemned the "jealousy" of critics who focused on the lineage more than Shedeur's abilities, on his Outta Pocket podcast with his wife Grete:

“Don’t punish the sons because you don’t like the fathers. ... If you dislike Deion Sanders, that’s not a legitimate reason to dislike Shedeur.”

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Executives, coaches weigh in on Shedeur Sanders' NFL prospects ahead of Draft

The divisiness towards Shedeur Sanders has manifested multiple times in various mock drafts, which vacillate between Shedeur being a top 3 pick with the Cleveland Browns or New York Giants and falling out of the top 5 with the New Orleans Saints or the Steelers. But how do people actually involved in the sports see him?

ESPN polled some personnel evaluators on his prospects in the league. When asked whether Shedeur is first-round material, only two said yes. One of them said:

"I'm fine with Shedeur's personality -- he's tough and works really hard. He needs to be in a timing offense -- three-step drop, timing, throw."

Among those who said he isn't top-pick material, one explained why:

"Not (a) great athlete, not big, not strong, undisciplined game, comes with scrutiny. Is he going to be good enough?"

Another of the six, though, had an even more damning prediction for Shedeur - a "fringe starter who won't get you over the top".