Bomani Jones Emerges As Surprise Voice of Reason on Shedeur Sanders Hysteria
In terms of Shedeur Sanders, Bomani Jones is one of the few voices of reason.
This isn't satire.
On Monday, Jones addressed the comparisons between Sanders and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick on his podcast:
"To my colleagues who are making this a cause, you are embarrassing yourselves. You are playing yourselves. And even if part of why he fell is that people didn’t like him, he was going for a job where being liked is part of the deal. They did it wrong. That’s all it comes down to. They did it wrong.
"There are criticisms to be made of Colin Kaepernick, but he literally gave it all up in the name of a cause that was bigger than him. The only cause Shedeur Sanders has is himself. Don’t you motherfucking dare act like those two things are the same. Do not. Have you lost the plot so badly? Look around you, the whole world is on fire. And you think that this is the thing to get mad about? You think that this is the thing to go march on and talk about? Because the NFL told an apparently obnoxious young man that he wasn’t good enough to be a starter? He wasn’t good enough to be a starter.
"So, to those of you who don’t know what you’re talking about … would you please shut the fuck up?"
We concur.
Jones also emphasized the difference between someone who is "outspoken" and "obnoxious."
"If your argument is, ‘They wanted to show this outspoken black man his place,’ No. 1, let us stop acting like outspoken and obnoxious are perfect synonyms. They are not," Jones said.
"Show me something that Shedeur Sanders has spoken out about. Tell me what that thing is, tell me what his cause is. He is not outspoken. I have not seen any reason to call him outspoken. Even if you think he has been treated unfairly, ‘outspoken’ is a stretch. And it is a ridiculous thing to say about him, I believe."
Again, we concur.
The idea that racism caused Sanders to slide in the draft is as silly as it is lazy. By all accounts, Sanders slipped because teams didn't consider his talents worth the headache of drafting him.
And his talents are part of the equation.
Draft insider Peter Schrager reported before the draft that most teams viewed Sanders as a second-round talent. Sanders was never projected to be the next Josh Allen or Jayden Daniels.
According to various reports, Sanders interviewed poorly and conducted himself arrogantly during the pre-draft process. The media is also so protective of Sanders and his father that they turn any perceived slight into a full-blown scandal, like the idea that the NFL committed collusion by allowing him to drop to the fourth round.
Now, all of a sudden, Sanders is a second-round talent with loads of baggage. Do you know where second-round talents with loads of baggage tend to go in the draft? After the second round.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Bomani Jones attends The New Heights House Party hosted by Jason & Travis Kelce on February 05, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Truthfully, most commentators (including me) do not know how to evaluate quarterbacks adequately.
Stephen A., Skip Bayless, Peter Rosenberg, Jemele Hill and even Paul Finebaum are not spending their weekend re-watching film of Sanders' years at Jackson State, pondering whether his skillset translates to the next level.
In fact, most mainstream sports commentators had probably never heard of Jaxson Dart or Tyler Shough until they were drafted on Friday. They only have strong opinions on Sanders because he moves the needle. What's happening here is no different from Bayless and Smith previously latching onto Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel, both of whom failed in the NFL.
Their outrage is completely self-serving.
Thus, Bomani Jones deserves credit for actually providing a nuanced perspective to the discussion. As he notes, while Kaepernick deserves criticism, he at least stood for--err, knelt for--something. Shedeur Sanders is just a cocky athlete with a famous dad.
There's a difference.
"And I don’t know if his daddy’s going to be the one to tell him, I don’t know who’s going to be the one to tell him. But he better learn them fast, otherwise his NFL career will end in August," Jones concludes.
No, this isn't Bomani's red pill moment.
We assume his views on race in America are still outdated. That said, he's not a grifter. He's not some intellectual lightweight trying to sound courageous on the internet, like Stan Verrett or Mark Jones.
And his coverage of Shedeur Sanders falling in the draft has been among the most honest we've seen.