Does a swing on Shedeur Sanders make sense for Pittsburgh?
It’s NFL mock draft season, and one of the top draft analysts in the space — Dane Brugler of The Athletic — just dropped his first post-Combine mock draft. Folks may be surprised to see who falls to the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick 21 in this edition — Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders.
There’s no doubt that the Steelers need a quarterback, though they do appear to be in a race to sign either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson ahead of free agency. However, a fall for Sanders all the way to pick 21 would be a surprise after being projected as a potential top-five pick earlier in the draft process. Brugler acknowledged the fall in his mock, stating, “Sanders is going to be a wild card in this draft. He could go in the top six or fall out of the first round entirely — and neither outcome would be a shock.”
On Sanders’ fit with the Steelers, Brugler notes, “He is not a first-round quarterback for a lot of NFL teams, which isn’t a major surprise (and matches my evaluation). But all it takes is one front office to roll the dice on his skill set. If Sanders falls out of the top 10, this would be an interesting landing spot. The Steelers are searching for answers at the QB position.”
In his final season at Colorado, Sanders led the NCAA with a 74% completion rate, throwing for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He led the Big 12 in completions (353), passing yards (4,134), touchdowns responsible for (41), passing yards per attempt (8.7) and passing efficiency rating (168.2).
The Steelers would surely enjoy his accuracy and ability to protect the football, noted with a 1.5% turnover-worthy play rate in 2024, which ranked sixth-lowest among QBs with 150 dropbacks according to The Ringer. On the flip side, one of his biggest critiques has been his tendency to take sacks, leading the FBS with 204 pressured dropbacks last season, per PFF. Sanders tied for the second-most sacks taken (40) in the FBS during the 2024 season, playing behind an offensive line that struggled far too often. That’s a problem the Steelers are all too familiar with.
Sanders has been one of the more polarizing prospects atop draft boards this year, with that debate focusing not just on what he brings to the football field, but also his personality, which has reportedly been a turnoff for some teams.
Coming out of the NFL Scouting Combine, NFL draft insider Todd McShay shared that two teams drafting in the top 10 expressed concerns with their conversations with Sanders, stating that he “did not feel take a professional approach” to his interview. Another team shared that they did not feel Sanders took his interview “seriously,” McShay reported.
Insider Josina Anderson shared a similar sentiment, posting on X, “I am disappointed to hear that a quarterbacks coach from a team drafting in the top 7 referred to Shedeur Sanders as coming off “brash’ and ‘arrogant’ in his team interview and making his assessment known to a number of people, per source.”
Considering the question marks surrounding whether or not Sanders is truly a first-round talent, these sentiments floating around the scouting realm are just more fuel for a projected fall come draft night, though it still seems unlikely given the number of quarterback-needy teams drafting ahead of Pittsburgh at 21.
Also factoring into the equation for Sanders is his father, Deion, an NFL Hall of Famer and current Head Coach of Shedeur’s alma mater, the Colorado Buffaloes. His leadership and coaching style with Colorado have been frequent topics of conversation in the college football community, and he’s been quite vocal about his son’s future NFL career as well. In early January, Sanders shared on a media appearance that there are a “couple of teams that I won’t allow [Shedeur] to play for.”
On one hand, taking a swing on the likely QB2 in this draft class if he falls all the way to pick 21 could be intriguing. Keep taking swings until you get it right… right?
On the other hand (and totally anecdotally), Sanders doesn’t really seem to fit the Pittsburgh Steelers’ mold for an ideal culture fit. The Steelers are, historically, a private organization that does not indulge in the fanfare of a media circus (cough, like the Dallas Cowboys, cough). It doesn’t seem all that likely that HC Mike Tomlin would have the interest or the patience to tolerate the extra attention that comes with a player like Sanders (and his father Deion).
What are your thoughts on Sanders to the Pittsburgh Steelers, should he fall in the 2025 NFL Draft?