Following the NFL scouting combine, a report emerged that one team's quarterbacks coach found Shedeur Sanders to be "arrogant" and "brash" during his combine meeting.
It wasn't necessarily surprising to see Sanders receive criticism through the draft process. After all, top quarterback prospects are under heavy scrutiny. Sanders is the son of Deion Sanders, one of the NFL's greatest players and boldest personalities, so that scrutiny is naturally magnified, especially as Shedeur has his own outspoken and confident personality.
Still, according to multiple people who know or have met Shedeur, that confidence has been mistaken by some as arrogance. One unnamed NFL executive told ESPN that Sanders is a very thoughtful person, as well as an independent thinker.
"The reason why people give him so much grief, it's just, when you talk to him, he's just different," the executive said, via ESPN's Kalyn Kahler. "He's very much a thoughtful person. Sometimes that comes off a little bit combative because he's going to ask questions, and he really wants to think through what you're saying. He's not really a yes-man person. He's going to really have his own thoughts."
The executive was far from the only person that has stood up for Shedeur's character. Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shumur attested of Sanders: "He's a wonderfully unique human being. He's got a big heart. I think of him actually, in our conversations, as being somewhat shy. Being the son of an accomplished person like Prime, you're close to a lot of the stuff that goes with that.”
Colorado linebackers coach Andre Hart sees those judgements of Sanders from the quarterbacks coach as projections of others' insecurities. "To me, I thought it was honestly other people's insecurities and how they feel about, can I coach this guy?" Hart said, via Kahler. "He may not listen to me. I may not be able to control him. And football is not about that. Coaching is not about controlling the kid."
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Executive Refutes Criticism Over Shedeur Sanders's Personality.
