Coming into the draft, many thought the Pittsburgh Steelers might take a quarterback with the 21st overall selection. At the time, Shedeur Sanders was the most likely candidate. That clearly did not happen the first night of the draft.
And Sanders ended up sliding all the way to the fifth round.
Not only did the Steelers pass on him in the first, but also the third and fourth rounds as well. When the Steelers eventually drafted a quarterback, it was Will Howard in the sixth round.
On 93.7 The Fan Thursday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittpaldo was asked who the Steelers would have taken had Sanders and Howard still been on the board in the sixth round.
“I think probably Howard,” Fittipaldo said. “I think they thought Shedeur was a good kid. They weren’t convinced he was ever going to be a starting-level player for them. Will Howard’s gonna come in here, he’s gonna grind, he’s gonna put his head down. He’s not gonna mind being a number three for a year. If you put that on Shedeur Sanders’ plate, I think there’s a lot of questions about how that guy would handle it.”
It’s obvious the Steelers didn’t have as much interest in Sanders as previously thought. However, when they took Howard in the sixth round, many thought it was less about Sanders than simply the Steelers not wanting to draft a quarterback until late on Day 3. With Gerry Dulac reporting that the Steelers expect Aaron Rodgers to sign with them, that makes sense.
Pittsburgh wasn’t alone in its lack of interest in Shedeur Sanders. You don’t fall all the way to the final day of the draft with only one team deciding to pass on you. When he found a home, it was with the Cleveland Browns. And they had already selected a quarterback two rounds before in Dillon Gabriel.
The most interesting thing Fittipaldo said was in regard to the Steelers not viewing Sanders as a starting-level player. Since Howard is now on the roster instead, could Pittsburgh view him as someone who could be a starter in the future? It’s not an opportunity most sixth-round picks get.
However, the Steelers are going to have to find another quarterback next offseason anyway. It’s not a sure thing that Rodgers will sign, either. If he doesn’t and Mason Rudolph falters, Howard might see some opportunities. Granted, that’s not a likely scenario. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for the Steelers to see what they have in their young quarterback before deciding to trade up for one in the 2026 draft, though.
