Report: One NFL team concerned about Prime when it comes to drafting Shedeur Sanders

The New York Giants are expressing concerns about top quarterback prospect Shedeur Sanders, according to a report in the New York Post.

The team is scared of Sanders’ Hall of Fame father Deion Sanders possibly interfering with the team when it comes to his son. The uber-famous athlete now known as Coach Prime, led his son and the Colorado Buffaloes the past two seasons. Deion has always been Shedeur’s coach, teaching the young quarterback at every level of the game. That won’t happen as Shedeur turns pro this year, with Sanders playing for whatever coach decides to build a franchise around him.

Of course, Deion is a man with many opinions and some things he and his son have said in the past are being brought back up in the NFL Draft process. Coach Prime has since backed off this but did say he would force his son to a team that he desired last year. Shedeur’s criticism of his offensive line after the Nebraska game seems to keep coming back up as well—though I was in the room for that and it didn’t seem out of place for how the game went. It was also one of the rare times Shedeur didn’t solely focus on lifting his teammates up.

“For instance, the Giants lose their first two games with Shedeur as the rookie starter, does Deion send missives from Boulder questioning the offensive line or a dropped pass or the play calling? This all has to be explored as deeply as possible,” Paul Schwartz writes.

He also notes how both Sanders always have the camera on and everything goes up on social media or to TV show. While that type of spotlight that the younger Sanders has always lived in might prepare him for New York, the Giants just had a horrible experience being documented last offseason when Hard Knocks got behind the scenes of their disaster summer.

If anyone were to be fine with the parade of coverage that comes with the Sanders, one would think a team based in the country’s top media market would be okay with it. On top of that, we all know Sanders will sell jerseys and stamp a new era of Giants football good or bad.

Schwartz says another concern of the Giants when it comes to Sanders is about his body type, and that he does not look as physical as other top quarterback prospect from Miami Cam Ward.

Sanders, 23, like fellow top quarterback prospect Cam Ward, 22, started his career at the lower levels of college football. Sanders began his career at Jackson State and Ward Incarnate Word. Last year the two excelled at Colorado and Miami. Some think Sanders might be the best quarterback in his class but the odds of him going first in the NFL Draft have been slipping since the college football season ended with many now favoring Ward above him.

Sanders was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year following an awesome season where he ranked in the top 10 nationally in completion percentage (74%), passing yards (4,134) and touchdowns (37) while breaking Colorado school records for passing touchdowns, passing yards, consecutive games with a touchdown pass, quarterback rating and completion percentage. Ward got a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist for his stellar season of a nation-leading 39 touchdown passes while throwing for 4,313 yards on a 67.2% completion rate. The Incarnate Word transfer turned Washington State transfer led Miami to a 10-3 season and a trip to the Pop Tarts Bowl.

For whatever the Giants think of him, Sanders seems to like the idea of playing in New York. He wore the team’s cleats before the Buffs bowl game. And that was a few weeks after he linked up with the team’s star receiver Malik Neighbours, where the two played catch in the streets. On top of all of that, Giants general manager Joe Schoen visited several Buffs games and practices, even speaking at a team event.

But if the Giants decide to go for another Buffs player with their pick, he might not be pairing up with Neighbours on the outside. As the skepticism toward the Buffs didn’t stop with Sanders from the Giants according to the same report. They do not consider Heisman winner Travis Hunter a two-way player in the NFL, saying he is too skinny to be anything other than a cornerback who has some gadget plays on offense since he will be at high risk of injury.

Hunter should be off the board by the time the Giants pick at No. 3 anyway. The one-of-a-kind player was the country’s award-winning best receiver and the nation’s award-winning best defender for his cornerback skills, Hunter led the Colorado Buffaloes to an Alamo Bowl appearance. He finished with a Big 12-best 96 catches for 1,258 yards, which were both fourth in the NCAA last fall. Hunter’s 15 receiving touchdowns were a school record, conference-best, and second-best in the nation. He’s also added a rushing touchdown on a jet sweep. It’s for all of this offense that Hunter won the Biletnikoff Award. Defensively, Hunter racked up 36 tackles, four interceptions, 11 passes defended as well as a game-winning forced fumble on defense. Those ball-hawking skills placed Hunter at or near the top of the Big 12 leaderboard which is why he won the Chuck Bednarik Award.

While there are legitimate concerns about Hunter being able to stay on the field that much, the one about Coach Prime’s Twitter feed impacting the biggest decision of Schoen’s career seems a bit far-fetched.