The Tennessee Titans have the best option with the No. 1 pick in April, and it's very likely that it will be Colorado star quarterback Shedule Sanders.
This is Sean Merriman's personal pick – Travis Hunter is a close second – but Merriman is well aware that being the No. 1 pick doesn't necessarily mean he'll get his man. .
Of course, Merriman ended up being part of the infamous 2004 trade for Eli Manning and Philip Rivers. Manning was adamant that he would never play for the Chargers, but the team, then in San Diego, drafted him with the first overall pick anyway.
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Shedur Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes fires a pass against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 9, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
In the end, after the Giants drafted Rivers, Big Blue sent him, a 2004 third-round pick and a 2005 first-round pick, to San Diego for Manning. That first-round pick became Merriman (though the Giants aren't complaining).
The Giants were in a prime position to acquire the No. 1 pick, so much so that Sanders himself was actually gifted Giants cleats for the bowl game. New York then won its third game of the season, lost control of its top selection, and is now projected to pick No. 3.
But Merriman seems to believe Sanders' father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, could play a role in repeating history with the same team he played 21 years ago.
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedur Sanders before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Folsom Field. (Ron Chenoy-Imaan Images)
Titans, No. 1 draft pick, Fire Chief Ran Carson
“I think Dion would be wise to send a message to the public that the team needs to tread carefully in what it plans to do…Prime, at least, is not going to go with just anyone. I think you're smart enough to get the word out, right?'' Merriman said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “But again, I think things change once you get drafted. Any player who gets drafted in the top five is a real blessing for anyone.”
Dion himself did say that he wanted his sons to play at the next level, saying that “more than one idiot… will tell you things that are completely untrue about where I want them to be,” but he doesn't want his sons to play at the next level. He did not completely deny that there was no such thing.
“If I'm going to say it, I'm going to say it directly to the person it might relate to, not the attention seeker,” he told X last week.
Merriman will get another look at Sanders at the East-West Shrine Bowl before the draft. His production company, Lights Out Sports TV, will be live streaming game practice later this month. Merriman entered the television world more than a decade ago after his playing days, and felt the Shrine Bowl was the perfect opportunity to showcase his second dream.
“Now having the right to exclusively live stream East-West Shrine Bowl practices means that when I was a kid I wanted to play football, I dreamed of it, I wanted to play in the NFL, , I'm in this space right now, it's my idea, it's my production, I'm doing everything. We're putting it together, and to have the ability to get into this space and get somebody like the 100th Tozai Jinja Bowl, it's important for us to be a huge, massive deal and this. We want to make this the most interactive practice week anyone has ever seen,” Merriman said.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with quarterback Shedur Sanders during a game against Central Florida on Sept. 28, 2024 in Orlando. (AP Photo/Ferrand M. Ebenhack, File)
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The leading candidates are believed to be either Sanders or Cam Ward, with some sportsbooks currently pegging the latter as the favorite. The Cleveland Browns, who own the No. 2 pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still on the roster, so there's a chance Sanders could end up on the G-Men anyway. Dion already has ties to the Big Apple, having also played professional baseball for the New York Yankees.
The Giants announced Monday that general manager Joe Schon and head coach Brian Daboll will return for a fourth season, despite going a combined 9-25 over the past two seasons. They have yet to draft a quarterback since joining the team ahead of the 2022 season.
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