The Pittsburgh Steelers have the 21st overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. At the start of the offseason, it didn’t seem like they’d have any chance at landing a worthwhile quarterback at that spot. However, as the days have come and gone, Shedeur Sanders has started to slide down the draft boards of some, making him feel like more of a realistic option for Pittsburgh.
Part of the reason for concern is in regards to Sanders’ bold, vibrant personality. He’s a confident player, which is something you’d want out of a franchise quarterback. However, it’s also caused some scouts to worry. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t agree with that premise, to say the least.
“Sheduer never pointed fingers, never assigned blame to anybody…Shedeur thinks like a pro,” Kiper said, appearing on The Insiders on Tuesday. “He acts like a pro… All that garbage about ‘the circus, you don’t want that. ‘ There’s no ‘circus’ coming with Shedeur. The only thing that’s coming is professionalism, class, and great football.”
This is high praise from Kiper, and he’s not the only one. Many worry about Sanders’ vibrant personality, but realistically, there’s little reason to think he’d struggle fitting into an NFL locker room.
During his time at Colorado, Sanders had reasons to be upset. He played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the nation and had little to no help from his running backs. Yet, there was never a point in which he called out any of his teammates. Sanders always took responsibility for things that went wrong.
During his first year at Colorado, a lot went wrong. They got off to a great start in 2023 but fell into a massive losing streak to end the year. Yet, Shedeur Sanders helped turn things around in 2024. Colorado finished with a 9-4 record. They went 7-2 in conference play, losing the conference championship to Arizona State via tiebreaker. If not for that tiebreaker, Sanders would have led Colorado to the College Football Playoff just two years after the school went 1-11.
As everyone knows, Colorado’s head coach is his father, Deion Sanders. Kiper notices similar traits in Deion.
“You guys know, nobody worked harder than Deion,” Kiper said. “Nobody prepared more. Nobody was loved more in that locker room than Deion, both as a football player and as a baseball player with the Atlanta Braves.”
It’s obvious that Deion plays a big role in Shedeur’s life. After meeting with the Steelers on Thursday, Shedeur even commented that Mike Tomlin reminded him of his father. If Shedeur Sanders continues to take after his father in how he acts in the locker room and treats his teammates, there should be no worries.
Kiper’s praise of Shedeur Sanders continues when talking about his play on the field.
“Everything everybody wants, decision-making, accuracy, toughness, he has… In the right offense, with the right personnel around him, [Sanders] can be great,” Kiper said.
All things considered, Shedeur Sanders would be a great pick for the Steelers. He does a myriad of things well. Even if the Steelers bring in Aaron Rodgers, Sanders could do well sitting behind him for a year. In an offseason in which they’ve found it difficult to lock down the quarterback position, the Steelers could do far worse than Sanders in the first round.
