Nobody was more ill-treated than the Colorado Buffaloes in last year’s draft. Outside of Travis Hunter, who went second overall to Jacksonville, most of them were snubbed. Shedeur Sanders, who was deemed a No. 1 prospect, dropped all the way to the fifth round. The other two, Jimmy Horn Jr. and LaJohntay Wester, also went in the later rounds. So, when asked why Colorado’s stars fell so far, Wester, who is now a wide receiver for the Ravens, didn’t hesitate to point the finger at Deion Sanders.
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“It’s because a lot of people don’t like to see a confident Black man who is under a real public figure appearance, like Coach Prime,” LaJohntay said on The Water Boyz Show. “Coach Prime, he is a public figure. He is a legend.
“A lot of people look up to him. The route that Coach Prime took, as far as his coaching, I think it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. It kind of made people feel the same type of way about hating and things like that.”
Wester didn’t stop there. He explained why he thinks Sanders’ influence may have played a role in how Colorado’s players were viewed.
“They felt threatened. The Deion Sanders family was a threat to a lot of people, and they just didn’t know.”
In Wester’s eyes, Deion Sanders’ confidence and the culture he built at Colorado simply did not sit well with some traditional NFL decision-makers.
According to Wester, the problem was bigger than just football. He believes some NFL front offices did not like how much attention and influence surrounded Sanders and his family.
In the traditional NFL system, front offices hold most of the power. They expect players to follow the rules and accept whatever team drafts them. Coach Prime changed that. He rarely let other people’s opinions affect what he believed was right.
Because Sanders has so much influence and isn’t afraid to speak his mind or stand behind his culture, Wester believes some NFL gatekeepers feel threatened. That, according to Wester, is where the tension comes from. He believes the media and NFL executives become defensive because they feel like they have little control over Sanders and his program.
And Wester believes that attitude carried over into draft season. As a result, some Colorado players, including Shedeur Sanders, suffered a shocking draft-day slide.
For months, pretty much every analyst projected Shedeur Sanders as a lock for the first round and a potential top-five pick. Instead, he slid all the way to 144th overall to the Cleveland Browns.
The rest of Colorado’s star-studded passing attack also took a hit. Wester had to wait until the late stages of the sixth round before being selected 203rd overall by the Baltimore Ravens. Five picks later, Jimmy Horn Jr. went to the Carolina Panthers at 208.
Not to mention, vertical threat Will Sheppard fell completely out of the draft before signing an undrafted free-agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fast-forward a year later, Shedeur’s competing for the QB1 role, Travis Hunter’s doing what he does best. Wester could break into a starting role with the Ravens. Horn is holding it down in Carolina, and lastly, Will Sheppard has signed with the Green Bay Packers.
Safe to say, things have worked out pretty well for these former Buffs, despite the perception of unfair treatment, all because they are Deion Sanders’ disciples.