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The unexpected unexpected fall of Sheduer Sanders from a first -round selection projected to a fifth -round selection was the most polarizing theme of the NFL draft last week.
ESPN Mel Kiper Jr. Draft analyst was among Sanders’ firm defenders, and former Colorado star Fall To Cleveland Browns seemed to leave the station in a state of disbelief.
Shortly after the name of Sanders left the board, Kiper unleashed in the NFL franchises, which led to a clash between him and the colleague Recon Davis.
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The host of ESPN “College Gameday”, receives Davis during the Rose Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Utah UTES, on January 2, 2023, in Pasadena, California. (RIC TAPIA/ICON SPORTSWIRE through Getty Images)
Kiper said the NFL had not been “clueless” for five decades evaluating quartbacks. Kiper seemed even more perplexed due to his belief of Sanders is “one of the most difficult quarters you have seen.”
The NFL Louis Riddick analyst then explained to Kiper that the question was not about whether Sanders could play as a field marshal, but, from a team’s perspective, if a team wanted him. Davis agreed with Riddick, who added: “The draft has spoken.”
The air dispute caused questions about whether there was a certain level of animosity between Davis and Kiper. But during a recent appearance in “No with Da Dakich” by Outkick, the host of ESPN “College Gameday” made it clear that he has no problem with his colleague.
Shedeur Sanders reveals a bold objective as a browns member
Davis acknowledged that the work that Kiper has the task as a draft analyst.
ESPN Mel Kper Jr. analyst during the NFL 2011 Draft on Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28, 2011. (Howard Smith/USA Today Sports)
“First of all, and I am not doing that thing that Pete Thamel accuses me, where I say two pleasant things about someone and then offer a criticism or something,” Davis told Dakich. “But the reason there was … whatever the number (of fans) in Detroit the previous year is largely due to what Mel has done for the draft.
“And Mel’s work is to make his ranking of the players and defend them. And I didn’t care that I did not agree, and I don’t care that I say anything I wanted to say when we were there. But I thought that, as a group, the part we were overlooking was the razor philosophy of the old Occam, the most likely explanation of something is probably correct. We do not know safely.”
A screen shows the Colorado Campo Mariscal Shedeur Sanders after it was chosen by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th general selection during the third day of the NFL Draft on April 26, 2025 in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Davis then pointed out the widely analyzed management of Sanders of the process prior to the Draft, arguing that he could have played a role in the fall of the field marshal.
“But it was almost certain that, at that time of the draft, that something had happened in the process prior to the draft that involved Shedeur Sanders that prevented the teams from carrying him,” Davis added. “Now, I think it is a reasonable debate if you say it is not one of the 5 quartback on the tape at this time.
“I am not sure that it is reasonable that it is not a type of first or second round. That seems a bit unreasonable to me. So, if you go beyond that, then something else happened. And my only point was that I did not think we were giving that the right credit.”
Davis said his relationship with Kiper was in a good place, and likes to work with him.
“It’s fine. I didn’t even know there was a problem until I started receiving text messages as I said,” he said. “It is a kind of part of what we do. Sometimes, for the good of the analyst and for the good of the program, you challenge his position. Mel is great. I love working with Mel. And he is the reason why the draft is what it is, in my opinion,”.
Shortly after the Browns selected Sanders on the last day of the Draft, he turned to social networks to share a short but emotional message: “Thank God.”
Sanders ended the 2024 season in Colorado with 4,134 air yards. It will join a field marshal room full of people in Cleveland with Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel.
