The Tennessee Titans have their pick of the cream of the crop with the No. 1 pick in April, and there’s a pretty decent chance it’ll be Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
I would hand pick Shawne Merriman, although Travis Hunter is a close second, but Merriman knows full well that the number one pick doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll get your guy.
Merriman, of course, was eventually part of the infamous Eli Manning-Phillip Rivers trade in 2004. Manning was adamant about never playing for the Chargers, but the team, then in San Diego, selected him anyway with the No. 1 pick. general.
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Shedeur Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes passes against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 9, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Finally, after the Giants drafted Rivers, the Big Blue sent Rivers, a 2004 third-rounder and a 2005 first-rounder, to San Diego in exchange for Manning. That first-round pick became Merriman (although the Giants aren’t complaining).
The Giants were in a great position to possess the number one pick, which led to Sanders himself receiving a pair of Giants shoes for his bowl game. New York then won their third game of the season, losing control of the first pick, and are now scheduled to pick third.
But Merriman seems to believe there’s a chance Sanders’ father and head coach, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, could play a role in repeating history with the same team from 21 years ago.
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Folsom Field. (Images by Ron Chenoy-Imagn)
TITANS, SIN. 1 PROJECT SELECTION, GENERAL MANAGER OF FUEGO RAN CARTHON
“I think Deion is smart enough to say that teams need to tread carefully as to what they plan to do… I think Prime is smart enough to at least get the word out that we’re not going to go with just anyone.” , okay?” Merriman said in a recent interview with Pak Gazette Digital. “But again, when you get drafted, I think things change, and being in the top five is really a blessing for anyone.”
Deion himself said that “multiple IDIOTS… will say things that aren’t entirely true about where I’d like” their kids to play at the next level, but he didn’t exactly rule out having a bearing on that.
“If I say it, I will say it directly to whom it concerns, not to the attention seeker,” he said on X last week.
Merriman will be able to see Sanders once again before the draft at the East-West Shrine Bowl, as his own production company, Lights Out Sports TV, will live-stream game practices later this month. Merriman entered television after his playing days ended more than a decade ago and felt the Shrine Bowl was a perfect opportunity to showcase his second dream.
“Having the opportunity now to have the live broadcast rights exclusively for us for the East-West Shrine Bowl practices, it’s like I wanted to play football when I was a kid. I dreamed about it. I wanted to play NFL and now be in this space that now, it’s my ideas, it’s my production, I’m putting it all together, and to have the ability to go into this space and get someone like the East-West Shrine Bowl, the 100th annual, it’s a huge, huge deal for us and we want go out and make this the most interactive week of practice anyone has ever seen,” Merriman said.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the game against Central Florida on Sept. 28, 2024, in Orlando. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
The first choice appears to be Sanders or Cam Ward, the latter of whom some sportsbooks have as the favorite at the moment. The Cleveland Browns, owners of the second pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still on the roster, so maybe there’s a chance Sanders falls to the G-Men anyway. Deion also played professional baseball with the New York Yankees, so there’s already a tie with the Big Apple.
The Giants announced Monday that both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will return for a fourth season despite going 9-25 in their last two seasons combined. Since joining the team ahead of the 2022 season, they have yet to draft a quarterback.
