There was a great deal of pre-draft speculation that the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a landing spot for quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Ultimately, the Steelers passed on Sanders three times, and new information has emerged as to why.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote Wednesday that the Steelers viewed Sanders as “a distributing point guard type” in their pre-draft evaluations. The team did consider taking Sanders with their fourth-round pick at No. 123 overall, but did not reach total consensus on doing so, and took Ohio State edge rusher Jack Sawyer instead, viewing Sawyer as the superior value.
The Steelers’ evaluation does not exactly convey high expectations for Sanders. The organization seemingly viewed him as more of a game manager, which explains why he was not seriously considered with the team’s first-round selection.
Sanders ultimately fell to the fifth round, where the Cleveland Browns took him at No. 144 overall. He joins a crowded quarterback room that also includes Dillon Gabriel, who was selected by the team in the third round.
Another team was seemingly closer to taking Sanders than the Steelers were. Pittsburgh did not necessarily have the same concerns about Sanders’ demeanor as some other teams did, but like the rest of the league, they simply were not sold on his talent.
