Louis Riddick isn’t just analyzing Shedeur Sanders on ESPN; he’s advocating for him, too.
There’s a deeper, perhaps more personal connection between Riddick and the Sanders family. The former NFL safety, now ESPN personality and aspiring front office executive, has vehemently called out the “smear campaign” seemingly threatening to derail the Colorado Buffaloes quarterback’s draft prospects.
Just months earlier, Deion Sanders had backed Riddick, campaigning for him to become the New York Jets’ next general manager. That job ultimately went to former Denver Broncos executive Darren Mougey. That said, the loyalty between Riddick and the Sanders family remains strong, with the ESPN personality continuing to stand by Shedeur amid the controversy surrounding his draft status.
And that sentiment carried over to Wednesday’s episode of First Take.
Deion has long suggested that his son and Travis Hunter avoid certain teams in the 2025 NFL Draft. While that seems increasingly unlikely for Hunter, who’s now projected to go No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns, the same can’t be said for Shedeur. There had been significant buzz about the New York Giants potentially taking him, but Riddick expressed a hope on Wednesday that he doesn’t end up there — or any of the top-3 teams, for that matter.
In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Sanders going to the New Orleans Saints at No. 9. The Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21 also make sense, especially with reports that the team is set to bring Shedeur in for a top-30 visit.
If it were up to Riddick, though, that’s exactly where he’d land: outside of the top-3.
“Shedeur is someone that wants to be collaborative,” said Riddick. “He is someone that you want to talk with. He doesn’t like to be told, ‘This is the way we’re going to do things, and you’re just going to need to fall in line.’ He’s earned that right because of the way he’s played. And this young man is going to be just fine. And you know what? I hope he doesn’t go in the top-3 picks. I hope he doesn’t. And I think his camp would tell you the same thing. There are other teams they want to go.”
Take the Saints or Steelers, for example.
Riddick wants a landing spot where Sanders can grow and succeed without the weight of top-3 pick expectations. And he suggests that Sanders’ camp shares that sentiment.