It’s been less than a fortnight since Shedeur Sanders’ inexplicable (at the time, at least) slide in the NFL draft. Sure, feel like it’s been longer, though perhaps because it’s been discussed and divulged ad nauseam. Fairly so, because of its unprecedented nature. We’d seen slides, but none this abrupt and of this magnitude. Alas, there was one franchise that was expected to be the floor for Shedeur. Picking 21st overall, considered the absolute lowest he could sink. 

In the lead-up to the draft, there was plenty of rationale behind the notion that Shedeur Sanders wouldn’t get past the Pittsburgh Steelers in round 1. There was a clear need at the position, for starters. Throughout the process, there’d been credible reporting about how much HC Mike Tomlin admires Shedeur. He’d made visits to the facility, and his visits were reciprocated with the Steelers sending the cavalry to his Pro Day in Colorado, including Mike Tomlin. But it turned out to be all smoke and mirrors, and this didn’t transpire. The Steelers pivoted, and Shedeur wound up at their AFC North contemporaries, the Cleveland Browns. Now, Coach Tomlin has publicly addressed what went down during Shedeur’s visit to Pittsburgh. And it has instigated a reaction from his half-brother Deion Sanders Jr, aka Bucky.

In hindsight, Coach Tomlin and the Steelers’ brass made the shrewd choice of not picking him in round 1. After all, Shedeur Sanders was available in round 4, too. But when they picked D-lineman Jack Sawyer with the 123rd pick, it drew a figurative line in the sand. Spurred people on to having an epiphany. Just how far down is Shedeur in their estimation for them to not consider him a good value at this very belated juncture? 

By this point in the draft, one thing was unequivocal. No matter your opinion of him, Shedeur Sanders was the best player available. Not just quarterback: player, period. The Steelers still hadn’t drafted one, and yet, they passed on him. Naturally, this facilitated the belief that Shedeur’s private workouts and meetings with Mike Tomlin were a disaster. Unsalvageable. However, the man’s own comments don’t cosign that belief. Speaking with the media about Shedeur Sanders’ visit, Mike Tomlin had only positive things to say. 

“[It was] a normal pre-draft visit. To spend time with a young man. To talk football, to get to know him as an individual, to get to see how he processes and sees the game. How he articulates his football experience. From that standpoint, I was a very normal visit,” Tomlin said. He was then asked if anything stood out. Anything that Coach Tomlin “didn’t see coming or didn’t know” about Shedeur.

“I think the things that stood out were evident. There’s a toughness there that doesn’t get talked about enough. There’s a competitive spirit there that doesn’t get talked about enough. I know he’s very talented and made a lot of plays for his university and his team. But the intangible qualities displayed on tape were impressive to me.”  These comments didn’t quite go down too well with Deion Sanders Jr.

Deion Sanders Jr.’s short, rhetorical reaction to Mike Tomlin’s comments on Shedeur Sanders

Conceded, what Mike Tomlin said may be ‘coach talk’. Vanilla lip service to quell the controversial discourse around Shedeur Sanders. Coach Tomlin is an elite man-manager and has situational awareness. He knows what he needs to feed into the airwaves for such a delicate, sensitive topic. Plus, you cannot beat a man who’s already down. That said, Deion Sanders Jr. still has none of it. The wounds are still fresh, and his reaction on IG implies something a lot of people believe. That Mike Tomlin and the Steelers said some stuff to Shedeur Sanders pre-draft that they didn’t stay ten toes down on.

Deion Jr., who runs the Well Off Media platform following the career and life of his brother, wrote a short yet resounding message. “You tell me,” he said in the caption. The post itself relays Mike Tomlin’s aforementioned presser. The comments of this IG post express a unanimous shock at why, despite this stance, Tomlin and co. didn’t draft Shedeur Sanders. This isn’t the first time Deion Jr. has had public outrage over how his brother is discussed. It probably won’t be the last either. 

Well, the die has been cast now. Shedeur will get an opportunity to prove Coach Tomlin and the front office wrong twice a year. The Steelers will try to extrapolate what their alternative quarterback selection, Will Howard, showed during Ohio State’s dominant playoff run to the Natty. They might even add Aaron Rodgers to the QB room. Shedeur and Deion Jr. will hope he does indeed get a shot at redemption with the Browns.