He might be viewed as arrogant, cocky and all about himself, which has many questioning him leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, but Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is exactly the type of quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers second-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith likes.
At least, that’s what FOX Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz stated Tuesday on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd Tuesday.
“Yeah, I had someone who I trust tell me that if you bring in Shedeur Sanders to Pittsburgh, he actually is exactly what an Arthur Smith would like because he’s gonna do exactly what you are supposed to do, he’s gonna play in the pocket, he’s gonna run your offense,” Schultz said. “And I’ve said this: I think Shedeur is probably further along than people realize in the sense that he’s played a lot of football. Jackson [State], Colorado won a lot of games, has not had great offensive line play.”
Sanders’ reputation might not make for a clear fit with Smith, but he’s a guy who can take tough coaching, and is going to execute the offense as it’s designed. That is key for Smith, who reportedly had some trouble with that last season in Pittsburgh with Russell Wilson, leading to the latter’s departure this offseason.
At Colorado, Sanders played behind terrible offensive lines, and he took some bad sacks. But he also made something out of nothing time and time again with his pocket presence and ability to dance around, avoid the rush and keep his eyes downfield.
That bodes well for Smith’s scheme, though there wasn’t much work under center for Sanders, and very little true play-action work, either.
But that type of coachability, running the offense as it’s designed, and operating within the pocket as much as possible is ideal for Smith’s scheme. Sanders can throw on the move, too, which works for play-action and bootlegs, so the fit there is pretty snug.
Mike Tomlin reportedly loves Sanders, which isn’t a surprise, and there’s a good chance that Smith likes him, too. Things are really starting to heat up with Sanders and the Steelers buzz with the 2025 NFL Draft just nine days away. It’s building to a crescendo, and that could lead to Sanders donning the Black and Gold in the first round next Thursday.
