The 2025 NFL draft took an unexpected turn when Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round after he was initially expected to be a first or second-round pick. As a result of the shocking fall to one of the most recognizable names in the class, much of the coverage during the draft focused on Sanders.
ESPN's draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. was among those leading the coverage surrounding Sanders during the draft. Kiper was one a select few that had Sanders ranked as his top quarterback over Miami product Cam Ward, and could not fathom Sanders's fall to the fifth round. In turn, many felt Ward's moment as the No. 1 pick in the draft was overshadowed by Sanders in part because of Kiper, and that Ward flew under the radar despite getting selected first.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal noted this week that though many NFL teams and media analysts spoke to him about Ward prior to the draft, Kiper wasn't one of them.
“I can’t recall many NFL teams or TV people I didn’t speak to," Cristobal said, via Brett McMurphy. ... “Never heard from [Kiper]. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to him.”
Kiper responded back to Cristobal's comments, saying that he did not talk to Deion Sanders about Shedeur either.
"Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didn’t speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts," Kiperwrote on X. "Interesting isn’t it. And oh by the way, I didn’t speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I need another Orange Crush after this nonsense."
Kiper indeed had Ward at No. 6 on his big board, only behind Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter, Mason Graham, Ashton Jeanty, and Sanders. Though Kiper ranked Sanders ahead of Ward on his draft board at No. 5, he still had Ward ranked higher overall on his board than several other analysts. For example, The Athletic's Dane Brugler ranked Ward as his No. 13 overall player in this class while NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah ranked Ward at No. 8.
Deion has since responded to Kiper's tweet in support of the analyst. He wrote on X: "But I Love u my man! You stood on the desk with great balance 10 toes down and said what u doggone said & didn’t flinch. You knew what time it was my man & we’re blessed to be right where God wanted us to be. 'With OPPORTUNITY' they forgot I was in the tv/entertainment business for 20 years before coaching."
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