Ex-NFL star, with ties to Eli Manning trade, discusses chances of Shedeur Sanders refusing Titans for Giants
The Tennessee Titans have their choice at the cream of the crop with the No. 1 pick in April, and there's a fairly decent chance it will be Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
That's who Shawne Merriman would personally go with – although Travis Hunter is a close second – but Merriman knows all too well that the No. 1 pick doesn't necessarily guarantee you get your guy.
Merriman, of course, was eventually part of the infamous Eli Manning-Phillip Rivers trade in 2004. Manning was adamant about never playing for the Chargers, but the team, then in San Diego, drafted him anyway with the first overall pick.
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Eventually, after the Giants drafted Rivers, the Big Blue sent Rivers, a 2004 third-rounder, and a 2005 first-rounder to San Diego for Manning. That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).
The Giants were in a great position to own the No. 1 pick, which led to Sanders himself actually being gifted a pair of Giants cleats for his bowl game. New York then won their third game of the season, losing control of the top selection, and they are now slated to pick third.
But, Merriman seems to believe there's a chance that Sanders' father and head coach, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, could play a role in repeating history with the same team from 21 years ago.
TITANS, WITH NO. 1 DRAFT PICK, FIRE GENERAL MANAGER RAN CARTHON
"I think Deion is smart by putting it out there that teams need to tread lightly, as far as what they plan on doing… I think Prime is smart enough to at least put the word out there that we're not just going with anybody, right?" Merriman said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "But again, when you get drafted, I think things change, and anywhere in that top-five pick man is really a blessing for anybody."
Deion himself did say that "multiple IDIOTS… will say things that totally aren’t true regarding where I would like" his sons to play at the next level – but he didn't exactly rule out that he wouldn't influence it.
"If I say it I will say it directly to whom it may concern not a attention seeker," he said on X last week.
Merriman will get one more look at Sanders before the draft at the East-West Shrine Bowl, as his very own production company, Lights Out Sports TV, will live stream the game's practices later this month. Merriman got into television after his playing days were over a decade ago and felt the Shrine Bowl was a perfect opportunity to showcase his second dream.
"To get the opportunity now to have the live-streaming rights exclusively for us for the East-West Shrine Bowl practices, it's like, I wanted to play football as a kid. I dreamed about it. I wanted to play NFL, and to now be in this space that now, it's my ideas, it's my production, I'm putting together everything, and to have the ability to get in this space and get someone like the East-West shrine bowl, the 100th annual, it's a massive, massive deal for us. and we want go out and make this the most interactive practice week that anybody's ever seen," Merriman said.
The top pick figures to be either Sanders or Cam Ward, the latter of whom some sportsbooks have as the odds-on favorite at the moment. The Cleveland Browns, who own the second pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still rostered, so perhaps there is a chance Sanders will fall to the G-Men anyway. Deion also played professional baseball with the New York Yankees, so there is already a tie to the Big Apple.
The Giants announced on Monday that both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be back for a fourth season despite going 9-25 in their last two seasons combined. Since joining the team ahead of the 2022 season, they have yet to draft a quarterback.
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