Deion Sanders' moves on the football field got him into the Hall of Fame. As a father, his exaggerated spin is also impressive, if not embarrassing.
Before the NFL Draft, Deion boasted that his son Shedeur would be a "top pick." He even retired Shedeur's number at Colorado, despite him having a 13-12 record as a starting quarterback and never as much as even winning a bowl game. During the draft, Shedeur infamously skipped an invitation to Green Bay to instead throw himself a lavish party celebrating his self-anointed "Legendary" brand.
When Shedeur endured an epic slide all the way down to the Cleveland Browns at pick No. 144 in the fifth round, the media searched for explanations. And found them.
Several outlets - including the New York Post - reported that teams were turned off by Shedeur skipping the Scouting Combine and his unusually "brash" attitude. ESPN's Todd McShay then shed light on a disastrous pre-draft meeting Shedeur had with the New York Giants, who at one time were rumored to be targeting him with the No. 3 overall pick.
“Shedeur didn’t have a great interview with Brian Daboll in a private visit,” McShay said. “An install package came in. Preparation wasn’t there for it. [He] got called out on it. Didn’t like that. Brian didn’t appreciate him not liking it.”
One of the rumors about Shedeur's pre-draft antics were that he wore headphones into interviews with teams and appeared disinterested and entitled.
The Giants passed on Shedeur multiple times, instead trading up in the first round to draft Jaxson Dart. Five quarterbacks were selected before Shedeur.
On a podcast with former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel this week, Deion admitted that Shedeur's freefall "hurt." But he then, of course, blamed the media's reporting instead of his son's actions.
"They want to create these narratives and create these stories and then attach them to a kid that ain't never done nothing wrong," Deion said. "You gonna tell me he had on headphones, Shedeur? Anybody know my son understand he’s a professional. Like he's gonna go into a meeting with headphones on? Y'all, come on.
"They're lying."
When asked about McShay's report during the Giants' post-draft press conference, Daboll delicately side-stepped a direct answer.
"I’d say we had good meetings with all the guys that came in here for visits,” Daboll said. “Quarterback meetings were productive. And, you know. we’re happy with Jaxson.”