The Steelers won’t be in competition with the Saints for QB Shedeur Sanders, Adam Schefter believes. After news broke that Saints QB Derek Carr is dealing with an injury, speculation that they would target Sanders soared. Schefter bucked that trend yesterday while noting that the quarterback has a wide potential first-round range from 3 to 21.
The Giants, who recently worked Sanders out, draft 3rd, the Steelers 21st, the Saints 9th. Schefter also didn’t think the Giants will be drafting him. “It doesn’t sound like it, but I don’t think it can be dismissed”, he said. He added he does not believe people around the NFL “believe the Saints are taking Shedeur Sanders”.
“So if the Giants aren’t taking Shedeur at 3 and if the Saints aren’t taking Shedeur at 9, now, let’s start to think and wonder about where Shedeur Sanders is going to go”, Schefter added, strongly implying the Steelers. “That is the spot that makes the most sense”.
Schefter summed up his thoughts in saying that Sanders’ range is between the Giants at 3 and the Steelers at 21, adding, “I don’t like the chances of him going 9” to the Saints. If indeed the case, either the Steelers have to genuinely love him, or perhaps another team jumps ahead of them.
Saints reporter Nick Underhill also agrees that they are unlikely to draft Shedeur Sanders. “I just don’t get the vibe that’s where everything lines up for them to make that selection”, he said. “I don’t think it matters who’s left there. I just think it’s gonna be a different position”.
New Orleans signed Derek Carr in 2023, but he is now 34 and injured. Shedeur Sanders is arguably the best quarterback the Saints or Steelers might have a shot at in the draft. They are also the two teams most clearly in need of one, besides the Titans, who are expected to draft Cam Ward. The Giants signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency. They are also in a better position to draft a quarterback in the second round, or trade up from there.
Of course, how much the Steelers, or the Saints, or any team, like Shedeur Sanders is a matter of speculation. On Thursday, for example, we heard precisely conflicting reports about how the Steelers’ visit with Sanders went.
So how are we to know who to believe? What do the Steelers, or the Saints, or the Giants, think about Sanders? Chances are, we can find reports to confirm any position we prefer to believe. It just becomes particularly comical when these conflicting reports surface within hours of each other. Nobody really knows anything. Or at least, nobody knows who knows something and who doesn’t.
