The old saying is, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And right now, just under two weeks from the start of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, the Shedeur Sanders buzz with the Pittsburgh Steelers is building into a multi-alarm fire.
On Monday, ESPN’s Dan Graziano stated during a hit on SportsCenter that if Sanders — who visited the Steelers last week for an official pre-draft visit — falls past the New Orleans Saints at No. 9, watch out for the Steelers to move up for the Colorado quarterback.
That’s created even more buzz, especially after Sanders raved about his meeting with the Steelers last week, calling it a “10” overall meeting and saying that head coach Mike Tomlin has a lot of similarities to his father, Deion Sanders, who coached him all four years in college at Jackson State and Colorado.
Now, longtime NFL writer Ty Dunne, on his Substack GoLongTD, called Sanders an “electroshock” the QB position needs in Pittsburgh and added that as things stand currently, Sanders to the Steelers is as real as real gets right now, 10 days from the draft.
“This is a funky time of year. Smokescreens galore. Etc, etc. But Shedeur Sanders to the Pittsburgh Steelers feels real as real can get two weeks before an NFL draft. That is, if the New Orleans Saints bypass him. Even then, the Steelers might need to move up from No. 21 to get the Colorado quarterback, but you can connect the dots. He’s an electroshock the position needs,” Dunne wrote on as a note on his Substack. “Personality-wise, I can see how Mike Tomlin and Sanders would hit it off. The QB called his visit with the team a “10” and even compared his own father to Tomlin — Shedeur’s had hard coaching his whole life.
“After Pickett/Russ/Fields, the man in a sideways cap carrying himself with a bit of cockiness might be welcomed in these parts. It’s not a perfect route to take at the position. Sanders’ flaws are concerning as the scouts detailed to McGinn. But Pittsburgh absolutely must draft a quarterback in the first two rounds, with or without Aaron Rodgers. Fit seems snug here.”
The fit certainly does seem snug when it comes to Sanders and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers under Tomlin need a franchise quarterback, a star at the position, one who knows how to deal with pressure and can create something out of nothing while leading a group of men. Sanders can do that, as he’s shown in his collegiate career.
There is certainly a bit of a media circus surrounding Sanders due to his last name and the attention that brings, but he handles it well, and the talent is very clear. He comes off as a bit cocky and arrogant, too, but in today’s NFL you need the swagger and confidence at the QB position, and Sanders exudes it.
Sanders wasn’t even a realistic thought for the Steelers for much of the pre-draft process. But now, as the process draws to a close and the big three-day weekend draws near, it seems like more and more of a possibility.
Should it happen, it could solve Pittsburgh’s quarterback issues for years to come. Pairing that type of big-name player with Tomlin at a position of need would send shockwaves through the NFL, too, and it could really give the fanbase and the franchise the shot in the arm that they need.
Time will tell if it becomes a reality. But when it comes to fits stylistically and personality-wise, there are few better projections than Sanders with Tomlin and the Steelers.
