Mel Kiper Jr. completely hitched his wagon to Shedeur Sanders prior to the NFL Draft, and in doing so he may not have done all of his homework on other quarterbacks in the class.
Kiper said for months leading up to the draft that he believed Sanders was the best quarterback in the country. Almost everyone — including the Tennessee Titans — disagreed, which is why Cam Ward eventually became a lock to go first overall.
Mario Cristobal, who coached Ward in college at Miami, revealed at the ACC’s spring meetings on Wednesday that he never spoke with Kiper about Ward. Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said the longtime ESPN analyst never contacted him, either.
“I can’t recall many NFL teams or TV people I didn’t speak to,” Cristobal said, via Brett McMurphy of Action Network. “Never heard from (Kiper). I don’t think I’ve ever talked to him.”
Miami's Mario Cristobal said he spoke “to a million people” about No. 1 NFL draft pick Cam Ward – except one. “I can’t recall many NFL teams or TV people I didn’t speak to.” However, Cristobal & OC Shannon Dawson never spoke w/ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., who was criticized for…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 14, 2025
That is not a great look for Kiper, whose job is to gather as much information as possible to put together informed player rankings. It is hard to imagine getting the full picture about a quarterback prospect without at least having a conversation with some of the player’s coaches.
Kiper had a complete meltdown on the air when Sanders fell to the fifth round of the draft. He refused to acknowledge that Sanders botched the pre-draft process and that NFL teams were concerned about the former Colorado star’s skill set.
In some ways, Kiper’s take on Sanders made for good television. His job is to attract eyeballs, and he accomplished that mission. Still, appearing biased is not the best look. Cristobal’s revelation suggests Kiper had already made up his mind about Sanders and was not willing to look at the entire picture.
