In the lead-up to the NFL draft, Shedeur Sanders has been faced with criticism from a variety of sources. From some around the NFL finding Sanders to be "arrogant" or "brash," to others believing he doesn't have a very strong arm or great athleticism, there has been plenty of scrutiny over the Colorado quarterback.
Travis Hunter, Sanders's teammate of the last three years and close friend, dismissed the criticism over Sanders while speaking to Sports Illustrated ahead of his cover story. Hunter said that he and Sanders get criticized more because they are coached by Deion Sanders, but added that they do not care about the negative attention that is aimed their way.
"They just hating," Hunter said. "They dislike Coach Prime and what he has done for Colorado, so they're trying to take shots at us. We played underneath him. That’s just all it is. They just hating on us, trying to take shots at us. We just see it and ignore it for real. I just talked to [Shedeur Sanders] two days ago about it, we don’t care. It’s just them trying to get us to be a different person than who we are."
Travis Hunter believes the narrative around Shedeur Sanders dropping in the draft is just people "hating" on Coach Prime pic.twitter.com/Vj2r2IvSXQ
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 24, 2025
Most recently, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that one NFL assistant coach called Sanders the "worst formal interview" of his life, and also called Sanders "entitled." Pelissero's report also included that an AFC executive also didn't have a great interview with Sanders, and said the quarterback "makes you feel small."
Though Sanders has been faced with more scrutiny than the average draft prospect, he also has a number of people who have defended his character. Kyle Brandt spoke in defense of Sanders this week, and multiple head coaches, including Mike Tomlin, have praised Sanders's toughness and character.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Travis Hunter Bluntly Dismisses Critics of Shedeur Sanders Ahead of NFL Draft.
