Schefter: Only One QB is Fit for Steelers in First Round
Adam Schefter of ESPN think Colorado’s Sheduer Sanders would be the only quarterback worth taking at 21st overall for the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Sanders gets past the New Orleans Saints at No. 9 overall, the highly-touted QB out of Colorado very well could land in the Steel City.
“I was of the mind that Pittsburgh was not taking a quarterback in Round 1,” Schefter said on his podcast. “I think the only quarterback that they would consider, me reading between the lines, would be Shedeur. But I can’t imagine he’s gonna slide to 21. Would Pittsburgh be willing to trade up to a certain point to go get Shedeur Sanders, if he gets past those other spots?
“If the Browns don’t take Shedeur Sanders at two, and if the Giants don’t take Shedeur Sanders at three, and that is the feel that I’m getting recently, where is Shedeur Sanders going?
“I think the two spots that you look at today, three weeks out, and this is a fluid process, and it changes, but today, I’m looking at the New Orleans Saints at No. 9 and the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21, who never, ever would’ve thought Shedeur would ever slide to them. And he probably still won’t, but there was a time where we said Aaron Rodgers won’t slide to 23, he was gonna go number one, and he wound up sliding on draft day, all the way to number 23.”
Former Steelers free safety Ryan Clark recently weighed in on the Steelers’ uncertain quarterback situation. He thinks the best move for the franchise would be to trade up for Shedeur Sanders.
“I think that move would be something that makes sense for Omar Khan,” Clark said on ESPN’s NFL Live on Friday. “Omar Khan has worked the general manager like no one has ever has. He’s been aggressive. You go out, and you get DK Metcalf to add to George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth. I think this is what you have to do.”
The Steelers are in perplexing quarterback situation right now. If Aaron Rodgers ends up retiring, the Steelers would be left with only Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson as their quarterbacks.The free agent quarterback market is pretty dried up now, too, so the Steelers might have to turn to the draft.
Sanders, 23, is viewed as the second best quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, only behind Miami’s Cam Ward. But it remains to be seen where he will go. Some believe he could go as high as No. 2 and others think he could fall out of the first round entirely.
However, the latter feels very unlikely, especially after throwing for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions over the past two years at Colorado.
Sanders also has NFL bloodlines as the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. That is something the quarterback-needy Steelers have looked for in the past, but it’s unlikely they’ll be willing to pay the steep price it will take to move up into the top 10.