Deion Sanders issues warning about 2025 NFL draft: `It's gonna be an Eli'

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has fired a warning shot about what might go down in the 2025 NFL draft.

His top players might refuse to play for certain NFL teams, sort of like how quarterback Eli Manning refused to play for the San Diego Chargers in 2004. The Chargers selected Manning with the No. 1 pick that year but then soon traded him to the New York Giants. Next year, Sanders’ quarterback son at Colorado, Shedeur, is expected to be a top pick, along with Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter.

“I know where I want them to go,” Sanders said recently on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast.. “So It’s certain cities that ain’t gonna happen… It’s gonna be an Eli.”

Sanders predicted Shedeur or Hunter would be selected No. 1 overall next year, with the other one getting picked no later than fourth overall.

He didn’t say which teams he didn't want to draft his players but is known to be fond of Atlanta and Dallas, among other cities. Sanders played in both cities during his own NFL career. Atlanta, he said, was the “first time I saw Black people in positions of authority,” which he said “blew my mind."

Sanders, 56, previously said in a separate interview with host Chris Russo on SiriusXM that he didn’t want Shedeur “going nowhere cold.”

“He grew up in Texas,” Sanders said then. “He played in Jackson (Mississippi), played in Colorado. Season’s over before it gets cold in Colorado. I’m just thinking way ahead. I don’t want that for him.”

Hunter, a cornerback and receiver, is expected to forgo his remaining college eligibility to turn pro after the 2024 season. Shedeur Sanders has recovered from a back injury and is heading into his final college year in Boulder. The Buffaloes play their annual intrasquad spring game on April 27 before opening the season Aug. 31 at home against North Dakota State.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com