Even though it’s almost a year left for the 2025 NFL Draft, the Buffs have already selected their favorite NFL teams. As found on the Life and Football YouTube podcast, Deion Sanders’ new cornerback, DJ McKinney is seen rooting for the Dallas Cowboys. While the cornerback attempts to raise his stakes to catch the attention of the Cowboys, he might face competition within his team.

Deion Sanders being protective about his son Shedeur and dual-threat, Travis Hunter has already planned the big game for their next destination. Among the few chosen programs where Coach Prime wants them to land in, Dallas Cowboys is one of them. However, there too, Shedeur can face a few roadblocks that may come as a ray of hope for McKinney. 

McKinney’s hesitant yet hopeful aspiration to join Dallas 

McKinney led all OSU cornerbacks with 38 tackles in 2023, while also posting five pass breakups. This landed him with a pass coverage grade of 70.2 at Pro Football Focus. While he is believed to own the talent of playing inside and outside, he comes off as a valuable asset giving Hunter some relief to move around and play the inside. However, on the podcast, McKinney in no way wishes to focus on his upcoming steps in college football. Instead, he has dreamed of something bigger. 

As the podcast host, Colin Moore came up with an interesting question, “What NFL team you want to get drafted by?” the answer that came from McKinney’s end was more interesting. After taking a long pause, the cornerback answered shyly, “Dallas Cowboys, for sure. That’s my team. That’s my favorite team”. However, there was a touch of lacking confidence as McKinney further continued, “They now wouldn’t want me, really choose me like that though.” While many of you might think that the cornerback will be flushed out due to lacking talent, that is not the case.  

Shedeur and Hunter as McKinney’s roadblock in Cowboys’ future

The only roadblock that McKinney might have to face for his dream to come true is to replace Shedeur and Travis Hunter. Since the Cowboys are seemingly non-committal to the future of quarterback Dak Prescott after a third-straight 12-win season culminated in an early playoff exit, there are chances that Shedeur will land with the Big D. However, the chance is rare since unless Shedeur’s draft stock takes a hit, the Cowboys would likely need to make a blockbuster trade in order to move up to snag the star quarterback. 

What is more alarming for McKinney is the high chances of dual-phenom Hunter landing in the Cowboys program. Deion Sanders while making an appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, shared insights about his son and Hunter, “I know where I want them to go. So, it’s certain cities that ain’t gonna happen. It’s going to be an Eli.” He has given a stamp of approval to only six teams for Shedeur and Hunter to transfer. These include the five teams Coach Prime played for in his illustrious NFL career- San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, Baltimore Ravens, and Atlanta Falcons. 

The sixth team being the Philadelphia Eagles. Hence, in that case, McKinney will have to woo his college football team coach, Deion Sanders first, in order to acquire the green pass to land in his favorite team. Will Deion Sanders choose McKinney over his son and Hunter to endorse to the Lone Star State?