Former Steeler Predicts Shocking First-Round Pick: ‘It is a Reach’
Former Steelers safety and defensive coordinator Tony Dungy makes a shocking first-round prediction for Pittsburgh.
It’s no secret the Pittsburgh Steelers need a quarterback with just Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson under contract for the 2025 season. However, former Steelers safety and defensive coordinator Tony Dungy believes his old team could be desperate enough to make a shocking reach in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
In a recent mock draft, Dungy predicted Pittsburgh will draft Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel with the No. 21 overall pick.
“We’ve gotta address that quarterback position,” Dungy said on his “Football Night in America” podcast. “I’m gonna make a shocking pick here and I’m gonna pick Dillon Gabriel from the University of Oregon. I think he’s a Bo Nix clone.”
“It is a reach, and I know people will be shocked,” Dungy continued. “But I had a feeling on Bo Nix last year, and I’ve got a feeling on Gabriel this year. I think he’s gonna be good for someone, and Pittsburgh needs a quarterback.”
Calling Gabriel a reach would be an understatement. The 24-year-old is projected to be a Day 3 pick ranked as the No. 155 overall player on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board.
He is coming off a highly productive season at Oregon, just as Nix was a year ago. In 2024, he completed 326 of 447 passes (72.9%) for 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions.
However, it still doesn’t come close to that of Nix’s 4,508-yard, 45-touchdown and three-interception campaign in 2023.
That’s why Nix was ultimately selected with the No. 12 overall pick by the Denver Broncos while Gabriel likely won’t come anywhere close to that.
The Steelers could be interested in adding Gabriel to the mix, but using their first-round pick on him would be a mistake with several other holes to fill.
If Pittsburgh is at all worried it won’t be able to land Gabriel, it could take him a round early with its fourth-round pick (No. 123). However, he is right in the range of the team’s fifth rounder (No. 156).
So while it’s very unlikely that the Steelers will being using their first-round pick on Gabriel, Dungy may just get his wish later in the draft.