Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Let’s begin with a reminder that the NFL draft is patently unfair to players entering the league. Yes, the draft has been an institution since 1936, and only a few individuals have challenged its authority. But that doesn’t make the process right.
You shouldn’t be obligated to work in, say, Green Bay, Wisconsin, just because the Packers selected you. Barring any personal ties to a city like Buffalo, New York, or Jacksonville, Florida, many young men wouldn’t start their careers with the Bills or Jaguars if given a choice.
Players go where they’re sent because the system offers a nice bag while disregarding their personal desires. Bucking the time-honored tradition is almost inconceivable, requiring copious amounts of gall, ego and nerve from whoever might dare.
Someone like Deion Sanders could check those boxes. The Hall of Famer went along and played nice in 1989 when Atlanta drafted him out of Florida State with the fifth overall pick. But as Colorado’s head coach, he says quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter won’t be as amenable when it’s their turn next year.
“I know where I want them to go,” Coach Prime told the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast Friday. “So, it’s certain cities that ain’t going to happen. It’s going to be an Eli.”
Quarterback Eli Manning shook the NFL when he refused to play for the San Diego Chargers, who drafted him out of Mississippi with the No. 1 pick in 2004. Manning chose to follow the lead of quarterback John Elway – the patron saint of NFL draft dodging – who in 1983 told the Baltimore Colts he wasn’t coming to town after being drafted with the first overall pick.
Those rebels wanted out, and they got their wish; Baltimore traded Elway to the Denver Broncos and San Diego traded Manning to the New York Giants. Each quarterback won two Super Bowls and became a living legend who never played elsewhere.
Despite the duo’s unmitigated success, no one else has emulated their power play.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams could’ve been next if he didn’t like the idea of playing for Chicago. Any hint of reluctance or defiance could dissuade the Bears from selecting him with the No. 1 overall pick next month. Williams’ father suggested his son might return to USC if the draft results were unpleasant, but the QB squashed speculation that he’s leery of Chicago.
“If I get drafted by the Bears, I’ll be excited,” Williams told ESPN. “If they trade the pick, and I get drafted by someone else, I’m just as excited.”
That customary approach is accepted by players and expected by fans. Rookies are supposed to fall in line with established norms, which include “taking one for the team” on draft night. The young newcomers are supposed to be too happy and too honored to weigh their own interests. Keep it humble or be considered a selfish ingrate.
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Chicago is ecstatic that Williams has followed tradition instead of going rogue like Manning and Elway. Former NFL star Robert Griffin III urged Williams to break ranks and avoid the franchise that misused Justin Fields. “Caleb Williams should pull an Eli Manning and tell the Chicago Bears I AIN’T COMING,” RG3 tweeted. Multiple media members advised quarterback Joe Burrow to reject the Cincinnati Bengals, who made him the No. 1 pick in 2020.
Burrow stuck to the script and transformed the Bengals, leading them to two AFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance. Williams could do likewise in a major media market with a fabled sports history. Maybe his pre-draft stance would be the same regardless of which team held the first pick. It appears that wouldn’t be the case for Chicago if Shedeur Sanders were the presumptive choice.
“I don’t want my kid going nowhere cold next year,” Coach Prime told Pro Football Talk.
What’s cold to him might be brisk to me, but his definition could cut the league in half. And that’s without knowing if places like Detroit and Minnesota count, considering their indoor stadiums. Teams that play outdoors in warm weather make for a short list.
But there’s nothing wrong with players flexing to exert some control during the draft process, which is equally unjust and unnecessary. Take quarterback, for instance.
There are 32 starting jobs, and the best candidates can’t all play for New York, Los Angeles or Miami, no matter how desirable those outposts might be. The position in Houston, where C.J. Stroud just won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, might not come open for 15 years. A team’s roster can be more appealing than its locale.
What hot prospect with a love for Kansas City wants to sit behind Patrick Mahomes?
Shedeur Sanders might pull a full Eli and tell certain teams to bypass him in next year’s draft. More power to him or anyone else with the requisite leverage and patience to pull it off. The price could involve sitting out until the next draft, which is easier if the player isn’t hurting for money.
Williams didn’t go all the way, but he flexed a little at the NFL Combine. He might be the first invitee who attended the event after declining to participate in the mass medical evaluations. Neither he nor fellow top prospect Jayden Daniels threw during the combine. Top wideout prospect Marvin Harrison skipped the event and went a step further, opting to skip Ohio State’s pro day, when NFL teams scout draft prospects on campus.
“Players right now understand they don’t have to do the status quo, and they don’t have to sit here and answer to whatever they’re told to do anymore,” Griffin said on ESPN. He won’t be surprised if Shedeur Sanders goes against the norm of accepting one’s draft fate without complaint or manipulation.
“This is the player empowerment age, and you’re seeing it come to the NFL,” Griffin said.
Bring it on.
Deron Snyder, from Brooklyn, is an award-winning columnist who lives near D.C. and pledged Alpha at HU-You Know! He’s reaching high, lying low, moving on, pushing off, keeping up, and throwing down. Got it? Get more at blackdoorventures.com/deron.
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