"Shedeur Sanders torpedoed himself": Boomer Esiason rips Browns QB for “entitled” attitude during pre-draft process

Former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason claims Shedeur Sanders's dramatic slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft stemmed from an attitude problem, not from his on-field abilities.

Sanders entered the draft as Colorado's highly-touted quarterback prospect under the coaching of his NFL Hall of Famer father, Deion Sanders. However, Esiason revealed that team owners actually told their management to take Sanders off the board because of his arrogant attitude.

The comments came during Esiason's appearance on WFAN Sports Radio on Monday, shortly after Sanders was selected 144th overall by the Cleveland Browns.

"Shedeur Sanders just torpedoed himself," said Esiason. "His attitude off the field, at the Combine. His dad didn't help him either, you know. He's on podcasts, talking about, 'This is my son. If I can get him to where I want to get him to, I'm gonna do that.' But you listen to this kid talk, right, prior or at the Combine about, 'If you want a new culture in your locker room, I'm the guy to do that. I can turn it around.'"

"I mean he's very high on himself. And I think he was very off-putting to many many coaches and general managers in the league," the 64-year-old added.

Sanders' fall sparked intense debate among draft analysts. ESPN's coverage turned heated when longtime draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. vehemently defended Sanders as his top-ranked quarterback in the class. Meanwhile, fellow analyst Louis Riddick suggested that factors beyond football ability influenced the quarterback's draft position.

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Shedeur Sanders' name was removed from many teams' draft boards

Esiason revealed that his information came directly from NFL insiders with firsthand knowledge of how teams evaluated Shedeur Sanders during the draft process.

NCAA Football: Colorado NFL Showcase - Source: Imagn

"I'm telling you, right now, that I know this after talking to three different personnel people in the NFL this weekend. They didn't even have him on their board," Esiason explained. "They took him off. And they took him off because the owner said, 'Take him off. I don't want that guy. I don't want this entitled person on our team.' And I don't blame them."

During ESPN's draft coverage, Kiper defended Shedeur Sanders by attacking the league's evaluation track record:

"My point is, Rece, the NFL has been clueless for 50 years when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks," Kiper said. "Clueless. They have no idea what they're doing in terms of evaluating quarterbacks."

Kiper pushed back against criticism of Shedeur Sanders' confidence, noting how the college football landscape has changed:

"College kids now get paid," Kiper argued during ESPN's broadcast. "They're professionals. They're getting paid. They're in commercials. They're out there. You gotta deal with that. If you're in the NFL, you have to deal with that."

The fifth-round selection places Shedeur Sanders behind established veterans in Cleveland's quarterback room. His path forward requires proving his critics wrong through on-field performance and locker room behavior.