His full comments read:

“I think whoever the f***ing anonymous person that is f***ing saying this should f***ing come out and say who they were. What the f*** is that about?

“I’m not sure why he dropped, whether it was the interviews or whether it was stuff that they saw on film. What I saw on film, I thought he was a way higher pick. And I think that’s all that should matter. I feel like this is going to be such a fresh start for him. I could see him working his ass off and becoming the starting quarterback in Cleveland at some point for sure.”

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Sanders — who many expected to be a first-round pick — fell all the way to the fifth round. The Cleveland Browns eventually grabbed Sanders with the 144th pick in the draft.

While some analysts expressed hesitation about Sanders’ ability before the draft, it appears other issues played a role in Sanders’ slide. An article by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network brought some of those to light, as Sanders was ripped apart for poor interviews with teams. Following the draft, Boomer Esiason claimed at least three teams took Sanders off their draft boards due to his “entitled” attitude.

He eventually landed with the Browns, who relayed the same message as Kelce in their draft-call phone call with Sanders. Browns general manager Andrew Berry told Sanders to “prove everyone who passed on you wrong” toward the end of that call.

It should not come as a major surprise Kelce wants to do away with anonymous NFL Draft quotes. Kelce was subject to off the field concerns prior to the 2013 NFL Draft after he was suspended for the entire 2010 season at the University of Cincinnati due to a positive test for marijuana.

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Despite returning to action and playing well in 2011 and 2012, Kelce likely fell in the draft due to that 2010 suspension. While it occurred years prior to his draft year, Kelce said off-the-field concerns came up during his draft phone call with Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who bluntly asked Kelce if he was “going to f*** this up.”

Kelce’s situation clearly worked out for the best. He proved to be a major steal for the Chiefs, who took him in the third round of the draft. Since then, Kelce developed into one of the best tight ends of all-time. The Hall of Fame call will come the instant Kelce is eligible for the honor.

Sanders can only hope for a similar story. He doesn’t need to be a superstar or future Hall of Famer to be a success in the NFL. Merely working his way into a starting role will be enough to quiet the anonymous folks who tried to tear Sanders down.