Shedeur Sanders visiting Steelers before 2025 NFL Draft in curious move

Shedeur Sanders is crossing his T’s and dotting his I’s as the 2025 NFL Draft approaches.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Colorado quarterback and long-assumed top-five draft pick is meeting with the Steelers on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports.

The Steelers, who hold the No. 21 pick in the draft, would profile as a team well out of range to select the widely expected top draft pick.

Or are they?

Sanders is perhaps the most divisive player entering the April 24 draft, and there is plenty of uncertainty about where he will actually be selected.

He was long expected to be the apple of the Giants’ eye at No. 3, although Big Blue added Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to the fold in free agency, adding to speculation that they could pass on drafting him altogether.

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Sanders is currently projected to go No. 9 to the Saints, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper.

If Sanders slides past the Browns and Giants at No. 2 and 3 respectively, then it opens the door for the Steelers to consider trading up to draft him.

If the Saints pass on Sanders at No. 9, there’s no telling how far the drop would be for Sanders and maybe the Steelers could scoop him without moving at all.

The draft questions come as the Steelers have long been awaiting a response from free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers to see if he will be their steadying force behind center.

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Rodgers had a throwing session with star receiver DK Metcalf at UCLA in March and the Steelers sounded optimistic about the possibility of the future Hall of Famer coming to Pittsburgh at last week’s NFL owners meetings.

Sanders’ father, NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders previously said they expected him to be a top-three pick and told the QB to ignore the outside noise.

“I told him, first of all, don’t believe nothing that they say. Because people are going to criticize you so you fall to them. That’s how it is. It’s positioning right now. So, don’t believe none of that. It’s positioning right now. But he’s speaking to the guys that make the moves, so he’s not listening to the media,” Deion said during a February interview at Radio Row. “He’s speaking to head coaches, GM’s and all of that of the first three teams, pretty much. Because that’s where we think he’s going to land, somewhere in there.”

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Sanders was highly productive in college while at Colorado, helping his teammate Travis Hunter win the Heisman Trophy as a wide receiver and cornerback.

He threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with an excellent 74 percent completion percentage.