It doesn’t take long searching on social media to discover that there is a large contingent of Pittsburgh Steelers fans who are not fans of Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. Some raise valid points about Sanders’ propensity for taking sacks or lack of elite athleticism. Others simply toss around that he’s Kenny Pickett 2.0 (which makes no sense to me).
But the dots connecting Sanders and the Steelers are getting tighter and tighter as we get closer to the draft. Head coach Mike Tomlin addressed Sanders’ pre-draft visit on Tuesday and how he came away impressed by the quarterback.
It’s not just Tomlin who is saying that the meeting went well. Peter Schrager went on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, and Sanders was the hot topic. And he brought up the Steelers as a logical landing spot for Sanders. But they aren’t the only ones, either.
“I’m saying 21 makes sense for the Steelers,” Schrager said of where Sanders could go in the draft. “I’ve heard that he and Mike Tomlin had a great meeting, and his conversation with Arthur Smith went great.”
Great conversations are no guarantee that the Steelers will draft Sanders if he’s available. But terrible conversations would be a near-guarantee that they wouldn’t. Aaron Wilson previously reported that the visit went poorly, but he seems to be very much in the minority among both local and national media. Tomlin and Schrager, among others, are very positive about how things went during Sanders’ visit to Pittsburgh.
It’s also good to hear that Schrager said the talks between Sanders and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith went well. No one wants friction between the quarterback and offensive coordinator. So if Smith came away happy with the conversation, that’s another box checked for the Steelers and Tomlin.
And we know that Tomlin has a lot of say when it comes to personnel decisions. Does he have the final say? Maybe, maybe not. But if he does and Sanders is available at 21, it would not surprise me at all if the Steelers pick Sanders. Draft insider Tony Pauline was on 93.7 the Fan on Tuesday morning, and he specifically said that “Shedeur Sanders is Mike Tomlin’s guy.”
That will likely trigger a lot of Steelers fans. It’s only been three years since the Steelers used a first-round pick on a quarterback, and we all know that Kenny Pickett is now on his third team. And the Steelers do not want a repeat of that fiasco.
But take heart, those who do not want Sanders. Schrager thinks there is a possibility Sanders is gone well before the Steelers are on the clock.
“The Giants have not closed the door on taking Shedeur Sanders,” Schrager said.
What the New York Giants do in relation to quarterback could drastically alter the rest of the first round. The Giants could take Sanders with the third overall pick. They could trade back into the first round ahead of the Steelers to get him.
But if what Schrager and others are saying is true, if Shedeur Sanders is available at 21, Mike Tomlin could very well be pounding the table for the Steelers to take him. And if that happens, hopefully Sanders will become their next franchise quarterback.
