Deion Sanders: Pre-draft attacks on Shedeur and Shilo "hurt"

Colorado coach Deion Sanders witnessed both of his sons plummet through the draft order. Shedeur lasted until found five. Shilo wasn't drafted at all.

Appearing recently on Asante Samuel's Say What Needs To Be Said podcast, Deion explained the impact of witnessing what his sons endured.

"It hurt," Deion said, via Jack Carlough of SI.com. "But the bible says God uses the foolish things to confound the wise. There was some foolish stuff that went on, but that gave them something that they needed. . . . That edge that Tom (Brady) had, it gave them the edge that you had, it gave them the edge that I have. Folks said we weren't gonna be nothing. But we had to prove that. It gave them the edge that they needed. Both of them."

Deion took issue with reports that Shedeur was not properly prepared for pre-draft meetings, with teams like the Giants.

"When you sit up there and say something like he went into a meeting unprepared, like, dude," Deion said. "Shedeur Sanders? Who has had six different [offensive] coordinators, who has still functioned and leveled-up every time we brought somebody new in, and you're gonna tell me he was unprepared? You're gonna tell me he had on headphones? Anybody who knows my son understands he's a professional. He's gonna go into a meeting with headphones on? Y'all, come on now."

Still, credible sources have explained the perception that Shedeur was behaving as if he was being recruited, not interviewed. With other quarterbacks creating a much different impression, Shedeur's draft stock suffered relative to his competition.

Deion nevertheless regards the incessant chatter about Shedeur to be "lying." And he believes both Shedeur and Shilo (who wasn't invited to the Combine and wasn't expected to be drafted) will be better for the experience.

"You got to understand my kids are built for everything," Deion said. "We had two TV shows, we had shows in high school with playing football junior and senior years. We've always been in front of the camera, so they know how to navigate, they know how to handle themselves. You're not going to catch them in no foolery or no mess. You're not going to do that whatsoever."

Both Shedeur and Shilo are getting an opportunity. Both will have a fair chance to earn a Week 1 roster spot. And if they can turn draft-day disappointment into motivation, they'll be better for it in the long run.