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Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson has accused the NFL of trying to "make an example" out of quarterback Shedeur Sanders after he fell to the fifth round of the draft.
Dickerson addressed Sanders' draft slide during a recent appearance on the "Roggin and Rodney Show," saying a "very good source" told him that the NFL discouraged teams from drafting the Colorado QB.
“I tell you this much, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL [is] that the NFL told [teams], ‘Don’t draft him, do not draft him,’” Dickerson said. “We’re going to make an example out of him. And this came from a very good source, a very good source.”
Sanders, who was projected as a first-round pick, ultimately fell to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, where he was selected 144th overall by the Cleveland Browns. Dickerson alleged that the Browns were also hesitant to draft Sanders but were “forced” to do so amid pressure from unnamed league officials.
“He said that – I won’t say who – somebody called the Cleveland Browns and said ‘don’t do that, draft him,’” Dickerson said. “Because they weren’t going to draft him either… They were forced into drafting him because somebody made a call to them.”
When asked why the league would take such action, Dickerson suggested the NFL was trying to send a message.
“They were going to have him not get drafted to basically show you: ‘This is what happens when you do this,’" the former NFL star said.
Dickerson didn't address what behavior the NFL was allegedly punishing. Sports analysts and personalities speculated that Sanders fell in the draft due to his handling of the pre-draft process, including his alleged unwillingness to work out for or speak with certain teams.
NFL insider Albert Breer pushed back on Dickerson's claim on "The Dan Patrick Show."
“I don’t think there was any conspiracy here… I think the great majority of NFL teams did not view him as a first-round prospect, contrary to what had been out there the year previous," Breer said.
“Once you get past the first round,” he added, “not a lot of quarterbacks go in the second or third rounds.”
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