Mel Kiper has been a fixture of ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft for over four decades and built himself a brand as the ‘Worldwide Leader’s’ premiere draft expert.

But despite his resume, a number of NFL fans were left outraged by his seemingly incessant fixation on one draft hopeful in particular: Colorado quarterback Deion Sanders.

The quarterback is a big name. The son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders had a strong college career and many pegged him to be a top pick in Thursday night’s first round.

But as the evening went on, Sanders fell further and further down the draft boards. By the end of the proceedings, he still hadn’t been selected.

Kiper and ESPN routinely brought up Sanders’ name throughout the night – even when teams who were selecting didn’t need his services – and at the end of it, the experts were baffled.

When the New York Giants traded up in the draft to take a quarterback, many fans believed they’d be selecting Sanders. Kiper and his fellow analysts thought the same.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper drew ire from fans for his fixation on Shedeur Sanders

Sanders, once considered a top-3 pick, fell out of the first round of this year’s NFL Draft

Instead, they selected quarterback Jaxson Dart out of Ole Miss.

An incensed Kiper predicted, ‘Shedeur Sanders will come back to haunt these organizations’. 

That’s not just a jab at the Giants, but also the other teams in need of a quarterback like the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

By night’s end, social media was filled with people calling for Kiper to be removed from the broadcasts or fired altogether.

‘Mel kiper should be fired immediately for this s**t,’ said one user on X, formerly Twitter. ‘Trashing on dart because he was chosen about [sic] shadeur is insane.’

Another said, ‘This is the first year where I genuinely believe Mel Kiper needs to retire. His takes are terrible today.’

‘ESPN needs to fire Mel Kiper…Bro so out of touch it’s not even funny,’ said another user.

Veteran sports writer Pat Forde joked, ‘Need a wellness check on Mel Kiper. The only person madder right now about Shedeur not being picked is his dad.’ 

NFL fans pointed out Kiper’s obsession with the quarterback, saying he should be fired for it

Kiper, 64, has appeared in ESPN’s annual coverage of the draft each year since 1984.

In the 41 years he covered the draft, Kiper has previously teased his retirement – once tying his career to the success of a prospect.

Back in the 2010 NFL Draft, Kiper was high on Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen – ranking him as the fourth-best prospect in the entire draft.

After Clausen fell to the Carolina Panthers with the 48th pick that year, Kiper said, ‘If Jimmy Clausen is not a successful quarterback in the NFL, I’m done. That’s it. I’m out.’

Clausen started 10 games with the Panthers in his rookie season – tossing only 1,558 yards and owning a touchdown-interception ratio of 3:9. 

The Panthers finished the season with the worst record in the league and drafted Cam Newton with the first overall pick in 2011.

Clausen’s career ended with just 2,520 total pᴀssing yards, seven touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. After his rookie season, he started just four total games across five seasons.

Nevertheless, Kiper remained at the desk of ESPN for the next 15 years.