Deion Sanders and Roger Goodell (Photos via @FOS_Today Twitter and Getty Images)Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has made a serious claim about the NFL ahead of the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
With the event two weeks away, many prospects have moved in both directions on the board. This is something that happens before every draft, and Coach Prime reckons he knows exactly why that is.
The former NFL star spoke to Front Office Sports this week and explained how teams use smear campaigns to manipulate a player’s draft stock.
“It’s done every year – but the teams are in control of it,” he said. “You have guys that are slated to go at this number pick. Randomly, something comes out that they flunked a drug test, or they have this type of injury or they were seen with this.
“And, wildly, their draft grade drops. How does that happen? How does that mysteriously come out right before the draft? That’s even more harsh… I worked the draft for about 10 to 12 years straight – I know that to be true.”
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Is Deion Sanders On To Something?
Deion Sanders might be on to something here. As you heard him say in the video above, he was close to the Draft for several years and claimed to know for a fact that teams use such tactics to tank prospects’ grades.
It seems that every year, a player expected to be picked out of the first round slips down to the second. Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch is a good example from the last draft; he was initially tipped to go top 15 before slipping down to No. 45 overall.
It will be interesting to see who suffers such a drop in this year’s selection process. However, the NFL will not be happy with Sanders calling them out.
BREAKING: Top NFL Draft Prospect T’Vondre Sweat Arrested In Texas
T’Vondre Sweat (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)Several NFL teams may have to make some major adjustments to their draft boards as one of the draft’s top prospects now finds himself in some serious legal trouble.According to a report from KXAN, former Texas Longhorns defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat was arrested in Texas for driving while intoxicated. He was booked by the Austin Police Department and taken to the Travis County Jail at 2:12 pm, where he was eventually released after posting his $3,000 bond.
Footage has since surfaced of Sweat leaving Travis County Jail, as he wore a shirt over his head to try and cover his face from cameras who were waiting for him outside.
DWI is classified as a Class B misdemeanor in Texas. No word yet on when he will return to court.
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T’Vondre Sweat’s Draft Stock Could Take A Serious Hit
Most analysts had T’Vondre Sweat going somewhere in the second or third round on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. In fact, NFL.com‘s Chad Reuter had him going 59th overall to the Houston Texans in his latest mock draft, while Walter Football has him going 80th overall to the Cincinnati Bengals in round three.
There’s no doubting Sweat’s talents, but now that he has this infraction on his record, his draft stock will likely take a hit. If he were a top 10 prospect, teams may have been willing to look away. But as a Day 2 prospect, teams will have many other intriguing options to fall back on with less off-the-field issues.
There may still be a team or two who are willing to take a chance on T’Vondre Sweat. We just won’t know who those teams are until the draft takes place from April 25 to 27.
