Despite the significant interest the Pittsburgh Steelers showed Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders throughout the pre-draft process, he won’t be the team’s next quarterback. He’ll be in the AFC North, though. Sanders lands with the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round at No. 144 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, stopping a significant slide that saw him fall through the first round, and then through rounds two and three on Friday.
The Steelers, interestingly enough, passed on Sanders three times.
Now, he lands in Cleveland, which also passed on him multiple times, including having already picked a quarterback in the draft.
Leading up to the NFL Draft, the buzz regarding Shedeur Sanders and the Steelers reached a crescendo with many insiders believing the Steelers would land the Colorado star. Sanders came to town for a pre-draft visit and raved about meeting with the Steelers. Ultimately, head coach Mike Tomlin raved about Sanders in his pre-draft press conference.
But Pittsburgh passed on drafting him in the first round, selecting Oregon DL Derrick Harmon instead at No. 21 and then grabbed Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson at No. 83 overall. Sanders fell out of the first round with Miami (FL)’s Cam Ward and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, who were the only two passers taken in the top 32.
Then, Sanders fell out of Round 2 and Round 3, with the likes of Louisville’s Tyler Shough going to the New Orleans Saints at No. 40 overall in the second round, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe going to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 92 overall in the third round, and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel going No. 94 overall to the Browns.
During his time at Colorado, across two seasons after two seasons at Jackson State, Sanders put up some impressive numbers. He passed for 7,364 yards with 64 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions, completing 71.8% of his passes.
In the scouting report of Shedeur Sanders for Steelers Depot, Steven Pavelka had this to say about the Colorado quarterback, comparing him to Andy Dalton.
“A few things are certain about Sanders: he is a proven winner who excels in accuracy from the pocket while bringing confidence that teams and players will love. However, he is not a guaranteed game-changer. A few measurables, being slightly below average, like age and height, will be overlooked. 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.”
Throughout the pre-draft process, opinions and stances on Shedeur Sanders have varied. Some insiders report that teams love him and his brashness, while others have reported teams were turned off by him in pre-draft meetings, and don’t believe he’s a franchise-caliber QB.
None of that matters now, though, as he’s off to Cleveland to begin his NFL career, and he has a sizable chip on his shoulder.
