Paul Finebaum said Colorado was “irrelevant.” Then, nearly 5 million people tuned in to watch Deion Sanders’ squad open the 2024 season—a Thursday night game against North Dakota State that crushed ratings from the year before. Robert Griffin III couldn’t help himself. “Apparently Colorado is relevant,” he posted on X. Even Sanders hit back, claiming Finebaum used him just to stay relevant. And it was more than a clapback. It was proof. Coach Prime’s Buffs don’t need approval to be the main event. But even with TV numbers soaring and national buzz intact, the spotlight hasn’t always been kind—especially when it came to their former quarterback’s draft-day slide. And this time, it’s not RG3 defending Deion, but FOX Sports’ RJ Young, as Colin Cowherd tried to stay relevant.

RJ’s backing echoes a deeper issue. Shedeur Sanders’ shocking fall in the 2025 NFL Draft isn’t just on him. It’s part of a much larger storm surrounding the Sanders brand.

Let’s rewind to draft night. Shedeur Sanders, once projected as a surefire top-10 pick, watched 143 names go before his. The Cleveland Browns finally called in the fifth round, shocking the football world. The talent is undeniable. The resume? Loaded. So what happened?

FOX Sports insiders tossed around several theories—quarterback depth in the draft class, team needs, questions around Shedeur’s pre-draft interviews—but one narrative kept bubbling to the top: the Deion factor. Some front offices were reportedly turned off by the glare of the spotlight that comes with the Sanders name. When your dad is Prime Time, everything becomes a spectacle. Even if it shouldn’t.

That sentiment echoed through Colin Cowherd’s critique, delivered with his trademark bluntness. “Nobody wants a celebrity backup quarterback,” Cowherd said. He wasn’t just calling out Shedeur—he was pointing straight at Coach Prime’s media circus and its ripple effect. “Deion, who has many friends in the media, saying, during the Super Bowl, in multiple interviews, ‘We will dictate terms, we will not play for certain teams’—and then between Shedeur sandbagging interviews, that probably explains (his slide).”

On May 29th, RJ Young clapped back hard on his Adapt & Respond podcast. Not just at Cowherd, but at everyone throwing blame in Deion Sanders’ direction. “My man’s Colin Cowherd gets out here and says that one of the reasons that Shedeur Sanders slid in the NFL Draft is because his father was talking too much—spent too much time on television talking,” Young said. “This is a man that you would have been very happy to have on any television show at FOX or ABC or ESPN or anywhere, because Deion Sanders draws people to him—not the other way around.”

Young wasn’t done. He pointed out the irony—media companies love Deion’s presence when it boosts ratings but blame him when NFL teams get cold feet. That’s a double standard he refuses to accept.

“To spend too much time on television is to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to turn down opportunities to talk about what good we’re doing at Colorado… what good Prime is doing with those players, and what good his kid is about,’” Young added. And Young had receipts.

In April, he sat down with Coach Prime for an honest talk. The biggest takeaway? “I think it’s that they’re tired of us. They’re tired of me,” Deion told him. “They’ve had to deal with me since 1988… on a baseball field… on a football field… on television… Now they got to deal with me as a head coach. Then they got to deal with my kids too. Oh no. We’re tired of this. We don’t want to have to keep dealing with the Sanders.”

To that, Deion calmly said: “That’s okay. I understand. But it’s not going to change our get down. It’s not going to change how we do business.”

RJ Young saw that for what it was—not arrogance, but persistence. He defended Shedeur’s poise, especially during NFL Combine interviews, where he didn’t back down from bold declarations. “Look, I’ve turned around Jackson State. I’ve turned around Colorado. Why do you think that I wouldn’t be able to turn around an NFL franchise?” Young recalled from Shedeur’s Combine quotes.

To RJ, that’s not cocky. That’s confidence. Earned confidence. And Shedeur’s résumé backs it up. He shattered Colorado’s single-season records in passing yards and touchdowns. Before that, he lit up Jackson State, claiming multiple SWAC titles and winning the Jerry Rice Award. He went toe-to-toe with FBS competition and never blinked. With Shedeur gone, the big question for Deion Sanders is, who steps up to lead the offense now?

Deion Sanders’ next move in 2025

Coach Prime, who went 27–6 at Jackson State and shocked the world with a 12–1 season at Colorado in 2023, faces his first full campaign in Boulder without Shedeur under center. And it’s gotten oddly quiet around him lately. No bold declarations. No press tour. Just business.

RJ Young believes that silence is intentional. “Meanwhile, the program is quietly gearing up for what many expect to be an exciting and promising year,” he noted.

Enter Kaidon Salter. The former Liberty quarterback brings mobility Shedeur lacked. More scrambling, fewer sacks. More RPOs, deeper shots downfield. “He’ll give you a measure of ability in the run game that Shedeur Sanders just doesn’t have,” said Young.

And that’s not all. Julian Lewis—the five-star phenom—is on deck. His early arrival could reshape the QB room entirely. With Marshall Faulk coaching the running backs and Warren Sapp anchoring the defensive line, Deion’s staff is suddenly stacked with Hall of Fame experience.

RJ summed it up with confidence: “Prime isn’t new to this. Each year he gets better. Each year he better understands how to navigate the space.”

Unlike most coaches, Deion Sanders is completely aligned with his athletic director and president. That institutional support, plus Deion’s national profile, equals long-term power. Even after the Shedeur era.

RJ Young didn’t defend Shedeur Sanders just to score points—he did it because the numbers, the records, the leadership, and the maturity demand it. The draft slide wasn’t about ability. It was about perception. And in a college football world that values unique style, the Sanders family truly stands out by refusing to be less visible. This might make some people uneasy, but as RJ pointed out, that doesn’t mean they’re wrong.