You know who’s got your back no matter what? Family. And Shedeur Sanders definitely knows that. Not only does he have a Hall of Fame dad always in his corner, but his brothers, Shilo and Deion Sanders Jr. aka Bucky, are his biggest hype men too. That Sanders trio? They’re a tight-knit crew. Already, the Buffs’ QB’s NFL draft fate has been a hot topic of discussion. The Tennessee Titans, holding the No.1 pick, have closed the door as they canceled his private workout. Looks like the haters are having a field day; now they just need to figure out how to bring Shedeur down. Right now, his little ‘tap’ move while holding the pigskin is what’s got them all worked up. That’s when an analyst pitches in, fueling more hate….but just in a sarcastic way to pull down the blinds off the doubters’ eyes. 

The Colorado NFL Showcase was held at the Buffaloes’ indoor practice facility in Boulder. There were many NFL Giants in attendance, like the quarterback-needy teams—Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and Tennessee Titans. By then, Shedeur had turned into a hate magnet for skipping the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. But he came off as a dominant force, perfectly placing a 55-yard pass to wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. at the Pro Day. This earned him big praise for its air distance and accuracy. Besides this, Shedeur completed 58 of 63 passes. Since the 23-year-old is not accustomed to getting so much praise at once, lately, NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt thought of cooking up some ‘manufactured’ hate. That’s his way of telling haters how they can only spread hate, no matter what. And this did reach Shedeur’s proud big bro Deion Jr.

On April 7, Bucky shared Brandt’s clip from the Good Morning Football podcast on his Well Off Forever IG page. The caption captured how Deion Jr., too, couldn’t stop sharing a good laugh and came up with a cold response. He wrote, “😂😂 Naw for real.” So, what’s the hoopla all about? Brandt opened with sarcasm, joking that Sanders’ habit of patting the football should disqualify him entirely. That’s when the analyst thought of spreading some fake hate. “I don’t think you can draft Shedeur Sanders because he pats the football. He’ll go undrafted, suffer irreparable damage, and end up in a different line of work.”

He had put up a clip from the QB’s Pro Day feat. And then went on with his analysis, “Right before he throws, he does a little tap. 1/16th of a second, he pats the ball. I think you have to take him off the board. Not the first round, not the second; he is going to freefall and end up going to different line of work.” Apparently, this might have only made the haters happier. But as Brandt carried forward with his analysis, it got easier for them to find out how the analyst was being sarcastic. 

“I did the research. There’s never been an NFL quarterback who pats the ball has ever been successful.” None. Zero. But the clips that then followed were from GOATS like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, who also had the habit of tapping the pigskin before throwing. Now that’s enough of a hint at how Shedeur’s future in the NFL is going to look. And that’s when a clear bias came to light.

Brandt pointed out, “This is going to be the Shedeur story—criticism just for criticism’s sake. Saying he’ll break the rookie interceptions record because he pats the ball is ridiculous…Cam Ward pats the ball, too. Nobody said a word. You’re saying it because his last name is Sanders. Josh Allen does it. Brady does it. It’s nonsense.” Just as Deion Jr. took a stand for his brother a few days back, Shilo stood up as a guard for Shedeur.   

Shilo stepped in for a clapback after Shedeur Sanders landed in the hot seat

Maybe that’s how they try to tear you down when you feel too confident about yourself. Shedeur hailed himself as the top pick. So much so, when Field Yates’ mock draft placed him at No. 6, the Buffs QB fired back, “That’s crap, bruh. I ain’t going sixth.” But soon, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli handed him a brutal reality check. He predicted that the Buffs’ QB would be falling to No.22 overall pick. Just when Shedeur was yet to cope with this heartbreaking prediction, some more news came his way to further tear him apart. 

Shedeur and Cam Ward were already in a friendly bro-style battle for that QB1 spotlight. But then, out of nowhere, Ward started soaking up all the good vibes, and Shedeur’s shine kind of took a backseat. On February 22, NFL Rookie Watch came with an IG post that showed how NFL scouts had started to see Deion Sanders’ QB son as a walking and talking ‘red flag.’

After all, Shedeur Sanders has always been known as a vibrant personality off the field, having hobbies like rapping. Meanwhile, Ward’s life revolves only around the sport, helping him to give it his undivided attention. A part of the caption read, “Shedeur Sanders is reportedly being placed behind Cam Ward on several team’s boards now due to “off-the-field/attitude” concerns. Some NFL team’s are reportedly “concerned” that Sanders isn’t solely focused on football, but rather his rap career and creating a personality out of himself.” Shilo Sanders could no longer keep calm. He dropped a bomb in the comment section: “Nah I met Shedeur before, pretty cool guy.” Haters can hate—Shedeur’s been A1 since Day 1; still undefeated in hype.