This time next week, the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft will be in the books and focus will shift to Day 2. The long gap between the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first- and third-round picks puts them in an interesting predicament with a few pressing needs on the roster.
There are plenty of routes they could take, but the consensus seems to be that they will target a defensive lineman, quarterback and running back with their first three selections.
If it comes down to a quarterback and a defensive lineman at No. 21 in the first round, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah says the tie goes to a quarterback.
“I would just say if you have conviction on one of those quarterbacks, if Shedeur Sanders got down there, if you have a lot of love in the building for Jaxson Dart – whatever it is – if you have conviction, then take the quarterback,” Jeremiah said Friday during his pre-draft conference call with the media. “If it’s at all close, take the quarterback.”
As we have learned over the last few years, it doesn’t matter how competitive the rest of the roster is if the Steelers don’t have a top-15 quarterback. They haven’t had one since 2018, and it’s no coincidence that the playoff-win drought started around the same time.
If they are dead set on a quarterback whom may require a small trade up to acquire, things could get tricky. They might be out of luck because of the lack of a second-round pick.
“I think it limits their ability to move up,” Jeremiah said. “It could be very costly for them to move up with next year’s draft so that’s one side of it. To me, if they aren’t in love with a quarterback, I could see them being a team that’s more than available and ready and willing to move back.”
Trading 2026 draft capital isn’t an outlandish thought if the Steelers are sold on a particular quarterback. They will recoup some of the lost value with their four projected compensatory picks.
On the other hand, the Steelers almost never trade back in the first round. This year might be more difficult to do so because of the lack of top-end talent available. There might not be trade partners willing to move up or give up enough draft capital to make it worthwhile for the Steelers.
If they take a quarterback, that leaves the Steelers in a tight spot to address running back and defensive line with just one more pick over the first two days of the draft. Fortunately, those are the two deepest classes in this draft, which plays into the Steelers’ favor.
“I think they can just take the highest-rated player, and they will still have options in the third round,” Jeremiah said. “I think there’s gonna be guys at both positions in the third round. They happen to be two of the deeper positions in the draft.”
They should be able to get two rock-solid starters with their first two picks if those are spent on the running back and d-line groups. If quarterback is part of that equation, then things could get more complicated.
