The New England Patriots had a successful draft where they added Will Campbell in the first round. However, the draft was quickly overtaken by Shedeur Sanders’ slide. Patriots legend Tom Brady has had to chime in as well.
Sanders was expected to be a first-round pick and the second quarterback taken. However, he fell out of the first round after the Tennessee Titans selected Cam Ward and the New York Giants traded up to select Jaxson Dart. Tyler Shough, Dillon Gabriel and Jalen Milroe were all selected before Sanders.
The Las Vegas Raiders traded for Geno Smith this offseason, but many expected them to jump on the opportunity to draft Sanders when he began to fall. Brady, who has a inority stake in the Raiders, trained Sanders when he was in college. Skip Bayless echoed this train of thought in his tweets during the draft.
“It is now pretty clear Tom Brady, who mentored Shedeur, told the Raiders not to take Shedeur. Duly noted,” Bayless wrote on X.
“How could Tom Brady’s team pass on Shedeur Sanders again and again and again???” Bayless continued on X, in all caps. “Brady reportedly coached Shedeur. Brady reportedly was involved in Raiders draft decision-making.”
Byaless’s comments reportedly caught Brady’s attention. The Daily Mail’s Russ Weakland reported what Brady thought of the take that he had a hand in the Raiders passing on Sanders.
“Tom thinks that Skip Bayless is an idiot for thinking he had anything to do with Shedeur’s downfall in the NFL Draft,” and Insider told Weakland. “Tom has limited say in what players the Raiders pick in the NFL Draft or whomever they sign.
“Pete Carroll (head coach) and Mark Davis (owner) have the final say on everything with the team,” the insider continued.
“Will they talk to Tom for his advice? Absolutely, but Tom had no sway on getting Shedeur or staying away from him.”
Brady spent 20 seasons with the Patriots, but it was comments about the Raiders that caught his attention. Brady is the most accomplished player ever, and his input would have plenty of weight, presumably. However, his minority stake in the team clearly does not give him the power to make decisions on the team’s future. The Raiders filled many needs in the draft before Sanders was drafted.
The team did end up selecting quarterback Cam Miller with the 215th pick. Before the Cleveland Browns selected Sanders at No.144 the Raiders were able to add wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr., offensive tackle Charles Grant, offensive lineman Caleb Rogers, cornerback Darien Porter, wide receiver Jack Bech and running back Ashton Jenaty.
All of those players filled a more glaring need than the Raiders have at quarterback after acquiring Smith.
