Ever since last April's NFL Draft slide, Shedeur Sanders' popularity has taken off like a rocket in the depths of space. Whether you were a fan before the Cleveland Browns took him with the 144th overall pick or not is irrelevant. The Colorado Buffaloes legend is establishing himself by stepping out of his father's shadow. A slow process considering his roots, but he's trying to secure a spot as the next generation in the NFL.
With great triumph comes a wave of doubters ready to watch a tumble. In the case of Sanders, the haters have always been ready to pounce, and this came decades before he was even born. Deion Sanders took on the mob of naysayers during his 'Prime Time' days with grace and confidence. It's the same approach Shedeur has inherited from his father, which stands to be an unshakable nature.
From social media keyboard warriors to reporters, there have been efforts to stir up Shedeur and try to break his mental stability. However, what most people fail to realize is that 'Grown' has been media trained for most of his life. He grew up playing a role on a reality television show and has since worked his way up to doing commercials and being one of the faces for Nike. There's no breaking Shedeur because he's built for this. One of the best actors in the world agrees.
Denzel Washington is currently out promoting his upcoming film 'Highest 2 Lowest' and was asked about the father-to-son roles in sports. Most notably with Sanders and the ties between LeBron and Bronny James. On the surface it's a loaded question.
Washington has given some of his best performances in sports-related films. Most people cling to his role as coach Herman Boone in 'Remember The Titans' as his top football flick. But it's hard to ignore the breakout for NBA legend Ray Allen, who played Washington's son, Jesus Shuttlesworth, in the 1998 drama 'He Got Game'. There was also 'The Hurricane,' in which Washington depicted the life of wrongly-convicted prize fighter Rubin Carter in 1999.
Outside of the acting gigs, Washington was once in Deion's shoes. His son, John David, played two years for the St. Louis Rams starting in 2006. Needless to say, he's well-equipped to talk about Shedeur's journey and had a message for the Sanders haters.
"Listen, Shedeur can play, you know, for real," Washington told SI this week. "Everybody's got an opinion. In fact, we live in a world of opinionaries. That's what I call them, opinionaires. All the shows, a bunch of guys, a couple of them that have played, but most of them who haven't, who have an opinion about what something should be when they haven't done it. Those who can do, those who can't talk about those who can't. Those who have, know what they are talking about. Those who haven't don't. Period. That's how I feel about it. Too much talking."
Sanders ran with his first opportunity, throwing for 138 yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut last weekend. If that's a preview of what's coming in Cleveland, the rest of the league might want to take notice.
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