CLEVELAND, Ohio — Before Shedeur Sanders barked a play call or threw a pass as Browns quarterback, he greeted the kids.
Days after the draft slide of this decade, Sanders visited John Marshall High School on the Cleveland’s West Side. Students gathered in the auditorium waiting for wisdom and pictures from the new Browns rookie.
As for Sanders, “I just wanted to come out and see y’all,” he told his audience on April 30. No PR stunting, no media advisory. Sanders visits schools at every stop of his journey because, as he told reporters at rookie minicamp, he prefers the students’ company.
Unlike the rest of the world, they don’t judge so much.
“... Their minds (are) not corrupted by other people’s opinions,“ Sanders said earlier this month. ”So, that‘s why I find joy and happiness going to different schools and being able to talk to them and see the joy on their face, because they follow the journey. Even through everything, whenever it was going crazy, wild, negative, my happiness was going there. So, that‘s what I always resort to.
“I always send pizza to their school and show them that I’m still able to connect with them, they are still able to connect with me. And eventually I was supposed to get on the game with them. But I don’t have my game out here right now.”
There goes the polarizing draft pick drumming up more controversy. How could he ... send pizza to local schools? Who does he think he is ... promising a video game session with teens who admire him?
Come to think of it, this rookie doesn’t seem as bad as he sounded in anonymously sourced circles. The kids might be onto something. And us self-assured, supposedly mature adults might be able to learn a lesson from these students.
Specifically: How to let Sanders — not his hype cycle — shape our opinions of him.
Over the last several months, we’ve heard a lot about the former Colorado star, but I don’t know what (if anything) we’ve learned about him. Recall the post-NFL Combine reports that labeled Sanders “brash” and “arrogant” during team interviews. Remember the entitlement questions that populated pre-draft scouting reports. And sure, factor these datapoints into your point of view.
Given that Sanders waited three days to get drafted, it‘s clear that NFL teams had concerns.
But Combine interviews last 15 minutes. Pre-draft visits last a few days, tops.
We’re analyzing first impressions here. We’ve all made and/or misunderstood a bad one. And we would all appreciate the chance to clarify our stance upon hearing a bad review.
Why should Sanders be different? Answer: Well, how much time do you have?
Sanders believes that most negativity surrounding him stems from his father and college coach, Deion. The elder Sanders, aka “Coach Prime,” played 14 NFL seasons during which he played, danced and trash-talked his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Deion Sanders is one of seven cornerbacks in history to win AP Defensive Player of the Year; he’d be the first to tell you about it.
On the field, Deion’s bravado fueled him. As an analyst, it carried television segments. As the college coach and father of a quarterback prospect, reviews are mixed.
And listening to Shedeur speak to reporters at the Combine, you could hear the shared DNA.
“... If you ain’t tryin to change the franchise or the culture, don’t get me,” he said then. “You should know history repeats itself over and over and over. And I’ve (changed cultures) over and over and over. So it should be no question why an NFL franchise would pick me.”
Nothing wrong with healthy confidence, but teams draw the (arbitrary) line at cocky, and particularly at Sanders’ position. Call them outdated if you like, but NFL front offices are filled with old-school thinkers: Rookies should be humbled; Quarterbacks shouldn’t talk like defensive backs (or wear backward hats, as Sanders did during his Combine media session); You can’t make a fifth-round pick your most famous player; On and on.
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Like I said, we have lots to consider when discussing the new Browns quarterback. And no matter your pre-conceived notion, you can find a post that proves your point.
Don’t like Sanders? Scroll up. Re-live bad reports. Reiterate old-school talking points. Cliches can be cliches for a reason.
Like Sanders? Extol his college track record. Re-frame the confidence conversation. Locker rooms crave assertive leaders.
My take: Open minded. I understand the pre-draft concerns, but I’ve already seen a different side of Sanders during his brief time in Cleveland.
During rookie minicamp, he stayed after practice to throw with tryout receivers. He praised fellow rookie QB Dillon Gabriel to reporters (“Really cool guy,” Sanders said) and minimized drama when discussing the competition between them.
“... It‘s just me versus me,” Sanders said.
Before he said that, he visited a local school to uplift the students and, potentially, escape the critical world outside its walls. Lotta noise out there. Over the next several months (at least), Browns fans and media will debate every Sanders throw and interview.
In the meantime, however, let‘s agree that people contain multitudes and can learn from their mistakes (yes, even quarterbacks). Let‘s temper the character analysis concerning a person we don’t know yet. And let‘s allow Sanders the chance to mold his own reputation in town.
Or, put simply: Try to think like a kid.
“They don’t care about other people’s opinion of you,” Sanders said. “They go based off their own. 99% of hatred (directed at me) is toward Pops. And then I’m just his son. ... But (the kids) didn’t grow up in an era to where they watched him play ...
“It‘s just the older generation that does it to me rather than the younger people. Because when I come in person, there’s no negativity I see. But it‘s all over online. So that‘s why I say I like going in person and actually meeting them and any questions they have, I say, just ask me whatever question you want. Pick any question. No filter, no anything. That‘s what they say. And then I just answer whatever they need me to answer.”