Deion Sanders laments criticism son Shedeur faces ahead of NFL draft but says he's 'built for this'

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion Sanders never fretted over his own NFL draft journey. He had the leverage to go where he wanted — Atlanta — because he was also a baseball star who had been drafted by the New York Yankees a year earlier.

He’s not stressing over his sons’ draft odysseys, either, even as highly touted quarterback Shedeur navigates heavy doses of negativity and safety Shilo is projected to go undrafted altogether.

“You’ve got to understand, when that last name is on your back, you’re going to be attacked and ridiculed by naysayers,” Sanders said.

But, he said, his sons “are built for this.”

Raised to handle the critics, to tune out the hostility.

Sanders coached Shedeur and Shilo the last two years at Colorado. Before that he coached Shedeur for two years at Jackson State. Shilo joined his family in Boulder in 2023 after playing two seasons at South Carolina.

Sanders shudders to think what kind of hate he’d have gotten in 1989 had he faced the kind of constant scrutiny kids — h...
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