There might be no player in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft whose draft stock is more volatile than Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. Is he the second-best quarterback in the draft? Will he fall out of the first round? Will the Pittsburgh Steelers take him if he’s available at 21? After all, he’s coming to Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit.
The Steelers certainly need a quarterback for the future, regardless of whether QB Aaron Rodgers signs. But a lot is riding on drafting a quarterback in the first round. So, should the Steelers pull the trigger on Sanders if he’s there at 21? And what would that mean for the other needs, like the defensive line?
“They have a lot of needs that can be solved at 21, like defensive line comes to mind for me,” said draft analyst Connor Rogers on Wednesday’s episode of Chris Simms Unbuttoned. “So, I think with Shedeur, he’s kind of that fringe first-round pick… I’m just not high on the quarterback class, and if I’m GM, I’m betting my career when I take a quarterback… If I was the GM of the Steelers, I’m not taking Shadeur Sanders at 21. There’s going to be a lot of better players on the board that’ll help us win.”
That’s the big dilemma that Steelers general manager Omar Khan faces in the draft. Do the Steelers continue to prioritize trying to build a winning team for 2025? They swung a big trade for WR DK Metcalf. And they have defensive stars who are aging in DT Cam Heyward and LB T.J. Watt. The team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016, which means Watt hasn’t won a playoff game in his career.
That explains the pursuit of Aaron Rodgers. However, Rodgers doesn’t offer a long-term solution for the Steelers. They’ve been looking for a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger since he retired in 2021 (and they should have started before that, which is part of why they’re in this situation).
That’s why people are discussing Shedeur Sanders to the Steelers. Even former Steelers S Ryan Clark is all in on Sanders to the Steelers. And Sanders was quite good in 2024. He completed 74 percent of his passes for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t questions about how Shedeur Sanders will translate to the NFL. Steelers Depot’s Steven Pavelka scouted Sanders, and he highlighted some of those concerns.
“He struggles with being less mobile than most of the quarterbacks in his class, not throwing the ball away, which leads to too many sacks, and attempting too many unnecessarily difficult passes,” wrote Pavelka.
Shedeur Sanders is no can’t-miss prospect, which means it’s a massive risk for Omar Khan. Plus, there are some quality options on the defensive line, like Oregon DT Derrick Harmon, who visited on Wednesday.
The combination of Sanders’ concerns plus the defensive line talent is why Rogers can’t see the Steelers picking Sanders at 21. Only time will tell who is right about Sanders’ pro career.
