NFL Draft expert Todd McShay appeared on “The Ryen Rusillo Podcast” to discuss the stories currently surrounding the NFL Draft and the NFL Combine. On the recent reports of Colorado prospect Shedeur Sanders’ attitude during team interviews, McShay had some thoughts of his own.
NFL Coach Calls Shedeur Sanders ‘Brash’ and ‘Arrogant’
The conversation surrounding Shedeur Sanders’ perceived brashness and “arrogance” during his team combine interviews rolls on. First, NFL insider Josina Anderson revealed that, according to sources, a quarterbacks coach from an unnamed NFL team had been openly criticizing Sanders.
According to those sources, the coach works for a team with a top-seven pick in the upcoming draft and found Sanders to be “brash” and “arrogant” during his interview.
I am disappointed to hear that a quarterbacks coach from a team drafting in the top 7 referred to Shedeur Sanders as coming off “brash” and “arrogant” in his team interview and making his assessment known to a number of people, per source. I’m purposely not naming the team, as… pic.twitter.com/OjCTciEZIa
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 3, 2025
Former NFL safety Ryan Clark reacted to the news on his podcast “The Pivot,” suggesting that Sanders is being unfairly judged when compared to other quarterback prospects. McShay didn’t openly agree or disagree with either Anderson or Clark, but did offer an alternative narrative.
Todd McShay Sheds Light on Sanders Controversy
Unsure of how seriously to take the rumors, Rusillo handed to floor to McShay, who attempted to provide clarity. Not buying the narrative that teams were put off by Sanders’ confidence in himself, he suggested that teams are well-versed the the more empowered personalities of modern young athletes.
Rusillo asked: “Is this a thing? Or is it the opinion of a couple [of] teams that, I don’t know, not great sources on this?”
McShay immediately responded, with confidence: “They’re great sources on it, because they were in the room. But I’m glad you said the phrase ‘p****d off, or p**s people off, he didn’t p**s anyone off.”
“My conversations, it was not with a disgruntled NFL executive who, crusty old guy p****d off ’cause he didn’t treat him with respect. That wasn’t the case at all. The NFL’s, kind of, swept that guard out of the league. If you’re an executive today, you’ve got to be hip with what’s going on.”
McShay went on to suggest that, if anything, Sanders’ demeanor during interviews was one of disinterest, more than arrogance.
“It was, just having conversations. One guy, I’m talking about Tyler Shough and how impressed I was with an interview I did with him, and it was like: ‘yeah, it was interesting. Shedeur didn’t [seem] like he cared all that much what we thought of him, it was different.'”
Sanders May Have Tanked Interviews on Purpose
After McShay revealed that many draft prospects don’t always give their full effort to interviews, if they don’t consider those teams to be likely destinations, Rusillo probed further.
“Do you think that’s part of it then, strategically? Like, if there was somebody he was meeting with [and] he didn’t want to go to them?”
McShay responded: “Well I don’t think anyone should be surprised, and the people I talked to, they weren’t overly surprised, they weren’t offended. It was just like, ‘yeah, that one was different, it was interesting.'”
"Nothing about it was contentious. Nothing about it was disrespectful."@McShay13 joined @ryenarussillo and shared his takeaways from Shedeur Sanders's combine interview and where he thinks the QB may land on draft night.
Presented by @FDSportsbook. pic.twitter.com/QZPAd18bGI
— The Ringer (@ringer) March 4, 2025
McShay then pointed to the fact that Sanders’ father, Deion Sanders, has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t want his son to play for certain teams.
“I don’t think anyone’s surprised. This is the narrative we’ve been talking about since, like, September, remember?”
“Coach Sanders has come out and said that there’re some teams that my son, and Travis [Hunter], that I don’t want them to go to.”
“These are probably just two of the teams that are not on that list of where they want to play, or where they want him placed.”
While a player deliberately tanking an NFL Combine interview may sound hard to believe, it’s not inconceivable. Deion Sanders has made it very clear that they will be doing everything that they can to avoid Shedeur and Hunter being drafted by certain teams.
Sanders’ NFL future won’t become clear until April’s draft. For now, though, the quarterback remains the biggest story of the pre-draft process, something his father won’t mind at all.