One NFL team was 'petty and immature' for skipping over Shedeur Sanders, says two-time Super Bowl champ

Before Shedeur Sanders took a massive tumble in the 2025 NFL Draft, one of the teams who took a ton of interest in the Colorado Buffaloes quarterback was the New York Giants. There was a decision to make for Brian Daboll and his staff, and it wasn't an easy one. Find a franchise quarterback and show progress or be looking for another job after the season was done. 

As one NFL source told me at the time of Colorado's Pro Day, "Daboll's Swan Song is upon us if he can't get it right. Fast-forward to months before the 2026 season and the axe came with Jaxson Dart being the one the Giants bought into. Even when Sanders sank like a rock in the draft, the Giants wouldn't take a shot at him. But why? 

New York seemed like a city "Grown" wanted to build his brand in. Being a signature Nike athlete and having a few endorsements in his back pocket would've been a huge selling point for him and others. But it wasn't meant to be and Sanders infamously fell to No. 144 with the Cleveland Browns bringing him into the fold.

Sanders' draft slide is still making headlines over a year later. The latest comes from former cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion Asante Samuel, who called out Daboll for his decision-making, saying he was "petty and immature" for not taking Deion Sanders' son off the board.

"That just sounds crazy in itself," Samuel said on his Say What Needs To Be Said podcast. "He got called out, didn't like it, and Brian Daboll didn't like that he didn't like getting called out. It's so petty and so immature that the narrative they tried to control on Shedeur Sanders. It's always somebody who just makes bad decisions."

During the lead-up to the Draft, Sanders took some heat about how he conducted himself in pre-draft interviews. He wore his headphones into a meeting and didn't have much to say, one report said. Another said Shedeur struggled to break down the game and wasn't heavily involved in explaining what he saw in a basic film study.

The Giants' decision to trade up for Dart instead of waiting for Sanders sent a clear indication of how they felt. Even though they sent every member of Daboll's coaching staff to Boulder to watch Sanders throw and came away with a positive exit poll.

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"[The Giants] gave him a play installation package, and Shedeur Sanders screwed it up," Samuel added. "But, at the same time, how much does that really affect who that person is as a quarterback?"

Would the situation be different with John Harbaugh in charge? We'll see how the Giants try to develop Dart, and more importantly, if he's the future QB in the Meadowlands. Meanwhile, Sanders will be fighting for his roster spot in Cleveland with all indications he's ready to battle Deshaun Watson in training camp.