For months, the football world has been operating under the assumption that the Pittsburgh Steelers won't be drafting a quarterback in the first round. At No. 21, they're simply out of range for passers locked into the top five and aren't close to trading up, either.
That has left the Steelers stuck with some combination of last year's quarterbacks, a crop of middling free agents, and lesser quarterbacks on Day 2 and Day 3 of the NFL Draft.
Thus, optimism is low as free agency nears, although it's worth noting just how much can change in a matter of weeks.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, rumors emerged that teams were souring on Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders due to his personality – a confident, borderline arrogant leader whose traits will earn him as many fans as detractors. Subsequently, it has become increasingly possible that Sanders falls out of favor, perhaps all the way to Western Pennsylvania.
The Steelers pick one of the class' top quarterback prospects in CBS Sports' recent 2025 mock draft.
"As mentioned earlier, Cam Ward is the lone QB in this class I think is worth a first-round pick, but it's not a knock on Shedeur Sanders," Tom Fornelli wrote. "I believe he's the most NFL-ready prospect in the class. What I don't know is how much room for growth is left here?"
There are two reasons for Sanders to slide: slights on his personality and the perception that his ceiling isn't high enough to warrant heavy investment. Without inside information, it can be fruitless – if not reckless – to speculate on the former. But a lack of elite arm strength and athleticism, coupled with high sack rates, is concerning. He needs to be a special operator within structure to hit, and teams might not share his impressive confidence.
While teams and fans may be worried about Sanders' leadership skills, his Combine media availability gave some insight into how he views himself.
Related: Steelers Draft Target Speeds Into First-Round Consideration at Scouting Combine
"I say being a leader, that's my best trait overall," he said. "Everything's mental. So, if I play my game from the neck up, I've got to be able to adjust to my players, to have them relate to me, to get to know me, and for us to make everything smooth."
At the very least, fans hoping for Sanders to fall have a path to paydirt. The Las Vegas Raiders just traded for Geno Smith. The New York Jets may not pull the trigger on a rookie, and the New Orleans Saints still have Derek Carr under contract. That could very well put Sanders' stock in free fall, speeding toward Pittsburgh in the middle of Round 1.
From there, it's just a matter of pulling the trigger.
Related: NFL Draft's Deepest Positions Help Steelers
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
Sports Pass is your ticket to Kansas City sports
#ReadLocal