After being viewed as a potential top-five selection for most of the pre-draft process, Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders could be in store for a Round 1 slide. It’s even possible he falls to the Steelers at No. 21 overall. A scenario Pittsburgh seems to recognize, bringing Sanders in for a visit last week.
If Sanders is available, should Pittsburgh make him its next franchise quarterback? While I didn’t write Steelers Depot’s scouting report on Sanders, which you should check out here, I’ve gone through his tape to determine if he should be the guy the organization hitches its wagon to.
In short, no. I don’t view Sanders as a first-round pick and someone Pittsburgh should bank on becoming a long-term option. In fairness and transparency, I’ve been a harsh grader on some of the top quarterbacks this season. But for such an important and pivotal position, the bar shouldn’t be lowered.
Sanders has attractive qualities. There are things about his game to like. Here’s some of the positives I noted when watching his tape:
– Capable touch/layer passer
– Good accuracy and placement over the middle
– Able to go through his progressions
– Enough athleticism to create and escape, extending the play outside of structure
– Flashes of climbing the pocket and scanning
– Eyes and feet stay connected
– Tough and took beating behind a bad offensive line
– High levels of production and helped turn Colorado program around
All important traits to have for the position. As much as there’s been made about Sanders’ brash personality, there are intangibles that shouldn’t come with any debate. Colorado’s offensive line wasn’t good and Sanders took plenty of hits. But he never looked skittish in the pocket or bailed on clean ones, an issue recent quarterbacks like Kenny Pickett and Russell Wilson experienced. He also won at Jackson State and led Colorado to a nine-win season in 2024, something the school has only done one other time since 2003.
So what are his issues? I’ll outline some below:
– Deep ball is poor and throws hang, forcing receivers to slow down for his passes
– Unusual amount of pre-snap fumbles/issues having clean snaps
– Showed mental toughness to overcome but repeatedly got off to slow starts and needed offense to get him back into rhythm with quick, underneath throws
– Tendency to drift in pocket at top of his drop, making life harder for his tackles to block and inviting pressure off the edge
– Not an elite athlete who is able to truly create beyond the LOS
– Tendency to pat ball along with lack of RPMs on passes could create problems throwing into tight NFL windows
In any system, Sanders’ lack of physical tools could be a problem. In Pittsburgh, they’d be magnified. Assuming George Pickens remains a Steeler for 2025, the offense’s strength will be its deep ball. Pickens and DK Metcalf making downfield plays. Sanders’ arm isn’t strong enough to reliably get those guys the football. They can bail him out the way Travis Hunter often did at Colorado but it’s not an ideal system fit.
It’s sensible to draft not just for the present but the future, hopefully Sanders is in Pittsburgh over a decade, but the offense is still likely to be built around its downfield and big-play ability beyond 2025. That’s when the Steelers’ offense has been at its best and Metcalf is in Pittsburgh long term.
Sanders’ habit of patting the ball is subject for debate. He downplayed the problem and he’s not the first, or last, to have the tendency. In a vacuum, it might not be a dealbreaker. But given Sanders’ lack of arm strength, it compounds the problem. A delay in his release, slight as it is, combined with a lack of velocity is a dubious NFL combination. Defensive backs may not clearly be able to see Sanders “pat” the football but it’ll give them an extra beat to close on a route. At this level, that’s the difference between a completion and a breakup. And a breakup and an interception.
Sanders isn’t a bad prospect. While I didn’t put the official grade on him, he may still be my No. 2 quarterback in this class ahead of Ohio State’s Will Howard and Louisville’s Tyler Shough. But that’s not the question to ask. The question is if Sanders is a franchise quarterback, a first round-worthy investment. Someone I, if in the role of decision-maker, would bang the table to draft.
And I don’t get that feeling. I like Sanders but I don’t love him. Not enough to stake him as the future of the franchise. I admit that’s partially a “gut” feeling rather than something objective and empirical, but I don’t come away with the feeling needed to advocate for drafting Sanders. Even if he falls to Pittsburgh at No. 21.
It doesn’t mean Sanders will be a bust. He can still have a good career. But not one that transforms a franchise into Super Bowl contender like Pittsburgh aspires to be. The pro comp in our report to Andy Dalton is an apt one in terms of career arc.
Maybe I’m wrong. Evaluating any prospect is tricky. The NFL gets quarterback selections correct at about a coin flip rate. But Sanders isn’t the guy who makes me think he’ll change the long-term course of the Steelers’ franchise to compete for a Super Bowl. So he can’t be the pick.
