Growing Belief Steelers Land Shedeur Sanders

The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to wait for an answer from Aaron Rodgers, which at this point, has plenty of fans hoping he chooses to go elsewhere. But who would the black and gold add to replace him for 2025?

Maybe Shedeur Sanders. The Colorado quarterback is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and after likely falling out of the top five picks, some speculate that he could make his way to 21, where the Steelers pick.

Speaking on his podcast, ESPN's Adam Schefter said the Steelers are believed to be one of the best bets for a landing spot for Sanders this NFL Draft.

"This is to me is going to be the great question of round one, where does Shedeur Sanders go? Because it doesn't look like two or three," Schefter said. "So, is he going nine to New Orleans? 21 to Pittsburgh? Is he going to the Browns or Giants, who trade back up? Or is there a wild card scenario out there, that we don't see, that we haven't talked about."

He later added that the Steelers are with the New Orleans Saints as the favorites heading into the draft.

"... 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," Schefter said. "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."

Maybe the Steelers can view is at not getting Aaron Rodgers but getting a player with the same NFL Draft slide.

The team didn't send their big names - head coach Mike Tomlin, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith or general manager Omar Khan - to Colorado's Pro Day, and didn't meet with Sanders at the NFL Combine. So far, there's little indication the team has interest, but certainly a strong belief that they would if he falls.

No one knows if Rodgers is going to give an answer to the Steelers before the NFL Draft, or if it's going to sway their first-round pick if he does join them beforehand. But right now, Pittsburgh is among the favorites to add the Colorado star and bring in a quarterback once believed to be a candidate for No. 1 overall.