Deion Sanders warned everyone last year, in context to his CU Buffs boys: “Don’t allow their hatred for me to interfere with our kids’ success.” At the time, it sounded like a rallying cry for Travis Hunter’s Heisman campaign. Fast-forward to draft weekend, and suddenly, that warning feels a whole lot heavier. Travis? He’s the No. 2 overall. Deion’s sons, though? They’re sliding, round after round, still waiting for their phone to ring, heading into Day 3. And now, it’s getting uncomfortable.

CBS insider Jonathan Jones didn’t sugarcoat it on Friday night. “Shedeur Sanders falling to QB6 — at best — and into the last day of the draft seems to me to be the league repudiating how he and those around him handled the draft process,” Jones reported. Translation: This wasn’t about the tape. This was about the off-field optics, the behind-the-scenes decisions. And if you’ve been following the Sanders’ playbook, you saw the warning signs long before the draft clock started ticking.

Jones laid it out: Shedeur had all the talent — top five QB, no argument. “You’re not going to convince me otherwise,” he said. But how Team Sanders navigated the last year? That’s where the cracks showed. Remember when Deion floated the “pull an Eli” idea last year — hinting that Shedeur might force his way to a better franchise? Cute at first. Then it turned into months of messy tweets, not throwing at the Combine, and whispers that Shedeur, well… didn’t exactly ace his interviews. “I was told that he more or less sandbagged in some of those interviews,” Jones said. It rubbed teams the wrong way — badly.

The dagger came when Dillon Gabriel, of all people, leapfrogged him. Cleveland snatched Gabriel late in the third round — QB5 off the board — leaving Shedeur outside. Think about it: Sanders had the bigger arm, the flashier numbers, the bigger name. But Gabriel? Maybe he had that “Jalen Hurts vibe” teams could buy into. Maybe the Dawg Pound thought Gabriel’s 86.4 passer rating and dual-threat game were just easier to mold. Either way, message sent: This league doesn’t care about clout. It cares about how you handle your business.

Stat sheet warriors might argue Shedeur still had the better season — 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, 74% completion rate — compared to Gabriel’s 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns. But Gabriel was more efficient, took fewer risks, and looked more comfortable using his legs. And in a league that’s all about buying low and developing upside, Shedeur’s camp made it way too complicated for teams to pull that trigger. At the end of the day, it’s not just about the numbers. It’s about trust. About humility. About making it easy for a billion-dollar business to believe you’re worth betting the farm on.

But Shedeur, he just kept stacking those ‘What ifs’ and asterisks with those bold statements. Remember what he said after his Pro Day? He told ESPN, “You’ll be a fool not to pick me. Whatever franchise wants to change their franchise, then it’s no doubt who to go with.” Sigh… The NFL, it seems, just wasn’t in the mood for those theatrics.

But surely, Shedeur Sanders is not going un-drafted…Right?

At one point, Shedeur Sanders was even considered an early contender to be the first quarterback off the board. But we go to Day 2. And two rounds, seventy picks, and four hours later, still waiting. By Saturday morning, he’s staring down Day 3, waiting to be, at best, QB6 off the board. This is, indeed, one of the crazy draft free falls in recent memory, and Michael Irvin also felt that.

Cam Ward (No. 1 overall to Tennessee) and Jaxson Dart (No. 25 to New York) both leapfrogged him. Friday night didn’t do him any favors either — Tyler Shough went to the Saints at No. 40, then Jalen Milroe landed in Seattle, and Dillon Gabriel found a home in Cleveland. Meanwhile, Sanders kept refreshing his phone…and his faith. “Thank you GOD for EVERYTHING,” he posted after a silent Friday. Saturday morning? Same energy: “Another day another opportunity to get a chance to play the game I love. Thank you GOD.”

Well, these prayers are not doing him any good. According to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Shedeur was always going to be a “wild card.” Brugler even slid him out of the first round in his final mock. Still, 102 picks later? That’s not a slide — that’s a full-on free fall off a cliff, Thelma and Louise style. Even former President Donald Trump chimed in on Truth Social, writing, “He should be ‘picked’ IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN.”

Now, everyone’s on this Sanders backing bandwagon. Maybe this much endorsement and entourage are the reason why the teams are looking past him… Because they don’t want all the world’s eyes on their project. But ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t hold back on-air, arguing, “Shedeur Sanders should have been a one, he’s going to be a four, we’ll see what happens.”

Of course, it’s not just the on-field tape. Sanders’ no-show at the Shrine Bowl, skipping combine drills, and reports of rocky interviews, didn’t exactly boost his stock. Add to it the questions — arm strength, pocket comfort, leadership vibes — and sprinkle in the “he plays for his dad” narrative? Some teams clearly decided the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. As one NFL insider put it, coaches aren’t racing to draft a backup quarterback who might end up commanding more media attention than the starter. That’s the story. Now, while he’s hoping to get drafted on the final day, he must know this late draft comes with the baggage of shushing the teams who skipped past him.