The 2025 NFL Draft is steadily approaching. It’s still unclear what direction the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to go in the first round. They have huge needs at multiple positions, like defensive line and running back. It’s going to be tough for them to fill those holes with their limited draft capital. They’re without a second-round pick thanks to the DK Metcalf trade. Because of that, NFL Network draft expert Daniel Jeremiah believes the Steelers could find themselves trading down in the first round.
“Because they traded the two for DK [Metcalf], they don’t have a two,” Jeremiah said Monday on his podcast, Move the Sticks. “They pick 21st and then next pick is 83rd.
“If somebody is interested and wants to come up for a quarterback, if they’re not comfortable taking a quarterback there, if it’s Jaxson Dart, they might be a prime candidate to say, ‘Hey, Cleveland, the Giants, whichever of you guys don’t take quarterbacks at the top, you wanna come back in and still get one? We’re open for business and we’ll go ahead and get some of those picks in that second-round range that we don’t currently possess.'”
The Steelers could use all the draft picks they can get. Going from the first round to the third round wouldn’t be ideal. Quarterback doesn’t look like a strength for this draft class. However, that position holds a ton of value. If one of the teams near the top of the draft passes on a quarterback, they could seek to move back into the first round to grab a signal caller who has fallen.
Now, it’s unlikely the Steelers would make a deal like that with the Cleveland Browns, their division rival. However, there are other quarterback-needy teams that could want to move up.
Omar Khan has made it clear he’s willing to move around in the draft. He traded up in the first round in 2023 to select Broderick Jones. Perhaps he’ll try to move back this year, especially if the Steelers don’t love their options when they’re on the clock at No. 21.
However, it takes two to tango. It’s unclear if the Steelers would be willing to move back as far as the top of the second round. They still might place value in the fifth-year option that comes with drafting a player in the first round. Their options become a little more limited if they want to stay in the first round.
A move like that isn’t impossible, though. The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams are two teams picking at the bottom of the first round that could target a quarterback. If they like one of the available players enough, maybe the Steelers could make a deal.
The Steelers could move out of the first round entirely, too. It would be a little surprising, but if they get a good enough deal, it could be worth it. Predicting draft day trades is incredible difficult, though. We’ll see how the board breaks down. Trading down could be an excellent move for the Steelers.
