Let’s get something straight about quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ nightmarish experience in the NFL draft: It had nothing to do with racism.
While many draft observers viewed Sanders’ perceived slide as a stunning development in the three-day process, NFL employees who actually select players and put them on the field evaluated the situation much differently. To be sure, many factors contributed to Sanders’ rocky entrance into the league with the Cleveland Browns – but his skin color wasn’t among them.
Fact is, no NFL teams rated Sanders as a potential difference-maker at the most important position in sports.
We know this because, in the NFL, everything revolves around the quarterback. That’s why owners often approve of making bold moves in the draft to acquire potential franchise passers, and general managers are willing to risk their careers by advising them to do it. If Sanders had been on any “must-have” lists, he would have been picked in the opening round. It’s that simple.
For NFL decision-makers, Sanders’ game film told the story, which wasn’t a good one for the former Colorado standout and son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Quarterback guru Quincy Avery critiqued it similarly.
The personal quarterback coach of some of the NFL’s top signal-callers, Avery has played a key role in the development of Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans and Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers, among others.
Additionally, Avery is the longtime tutor of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is expected to miss significant time next season, and potentially the entire season, after re-rupturing his right Achilles tendon. Publicly, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has described the acquisition of Watson as a “big swing and miss,” and the team is expected to move on from the three-time Pro Bowler.
The draft unfolded as Avery, who was critical of Sanders’ performance before the Browns selected him, envisioned it would.
“The tape didn’t lead me to believe anything other than [Sanders should be a late-round pick],” Avery said Monday in a phone interview with Andscape. “Like, he’s a backup at best.”
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Avery’s inspirational life story is the subject of a Hulu documentary, The Quincy Avery Effect (full disclosure, I’m one of the movie’s executive producers). For Avery, the standing of Black quarterbacks in the NFL is personal, and he’s saddened that many fans have expressed wrongheaded views about something that’s not rooted in fact.
“For Black people to say these things … it’s so frustrating,” Avery lamented. “Because then when there are situations that are really about race, [white] people are not gonna value that in the same way. They’re gonna say, ‘They’re making everything about race.’ We just don’t need to do that.
“And many people, most of the people, who are doing this are making these claims without having the eye of discernment. They don’t understand how the NFL actually evaluates the position and what’s important. They don’t have the eye of discernment to really understand that he’s not good enough to be in the position we’re asking him to be in. So it’s frustrating, to say the least.”
In countering the unsupported racism narrative, Avery pointed to the top of the draft. The Tennessee Titans selected former Miami standout Cam Ward first overall. What’s more, during each of the past three NFL drafts, Black quarterbacks were selected first overall, and seven were picked in the opening round.
Black quarterbacks have won the last three Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, two of the last three league Associated Press MVP awards and the last two AP Offensive Rookie of the Year awards. In the NFL, this is the era of the Black quarterback. To cry racism because one player was not drafted where so-called draft experts believed he would be picked is ridiculous, Avery believes.
“Black quarterbacks are getting more opportunities than ever before,” Avery said. “We’re asking for young men to be able to be authentically themselves, which is Black, which is of the culture, which is all those things that it includes, and to be given opportunities.
“And now we’re actually seeing things move in that direction, in the right direction. For us to complain because someone who actually is not talented enough is not getting the opportunity of someone who is more talented than him … it’s wild and it’s ridiculous.”
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders looks to throw a pass before a Big 12 game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Nov. 23, 2024 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire
After Sanders went undrafted in the first round, many fans took to social media to blast the NFL for conspiring against him. They expressed shock that a player who was so productive statistically at Colorado would drop to the fifth round. They argued that the NFL punished Sanders because he’s an outspoken Black man with a big ego.
During the runup to the 2011 NFL draft, many draft analysts characterized quarterback Cam Newton as being scripted, selfish and having an oversized ego. Still, the Carolina Panthers selected Newton with the No. 1 overall pick. Why? Because his talent jumped off the screen.
Last season, Caleb Williams faced scrutiny because he painted his fingernails while in college and was filmed crying on the field. The Chicago Bears chose Williams with the first selection in the 2024 draft.
Neither move was surprising, Avery said.
“With the draft, it really comes down to whether the juice is worth the squeeze for these teams,” Avery said. “And if it’s not, they’re not gonna bother.”
For the NFL, Sanders wasn’t worth a high-round pick. That’s just a fact. To ascribe his situation to racism, however, demeans Sanders, as well as the accomplishments of the star Black quarterbacks thriving in today’s game.
