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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2), who fell during the NFL Draft. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
If the Pittsburgh Steelers had to play a game right before the NFL Draft started, Mason Rudolph would have been their starting quarterback. That’s not ideal.
And despite having little idea who is their quarterback of the present or future, the Steelers passed on Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders, who months ago was considered a possibility to go first overall in the NFL Draft, had a big fall. The New Orleans Saints passed on him with the ninth pick, and then the Steelers passed on him at No. 21. Instead they took Oregon Ducks defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. That left everyone wondering what the Steelers will do at quarterback and where Sanders might fall. What made the Steelers passing Sanders even more jarring is they don't have a second-round pick to take a quarterback. They traded that to Seattle for receiver DK Metcalf.
Harmon should be a solid player on a good Steelers defense. But the decision to take him over a quarterback was still a bit surprising.
The Saints and Steelers have scary, thin quarterback situations. Both teams passing on Sanders and Jaxson Dart in the first round says a lot about what the NFL thought about this quarterback draft class beyond Cam Ward. For a long time the NFL had been giving vibes that it didn't love any of the quarterbacks early in the draft other than Ward, and that came to fruition in the first round.
The Steelers could still sign Aaron Rodgers, trade for Kirk Cousins or pick a quarterback later in the draft. But clearly they didn’t think Sanders or Dart was worth a first-round pick.
Sanders was a divisive figure coming into the draft. There were plenty of anonymous quotes from NFL sources that were overly critical of him. There were some valid concerns about his size, arm strength and athleticism and whether that would keep him from being a franchise quarterback.
No matter the reason, Sanders had a draft drop that would have been considered almost impossible just a couple months ago.
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