On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers' top decision makers, Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin, held their annual pre draft press conference, and both shared some interesting thoughts about this year's draft, their plans, and a few prospects. But one name in particular caught everyone's attention: Shedeur Sanders.
With recent buzz connecting the quarterback to the Steelers, people took notice when Tomlin spoke with unusually high praise for Sanders. It is very rare for Tomlin to be that complimentary of a prospect in a public setting, which makes you wonder. Maybe there is more going on behind the scenes that is not being talked about, or maybe Tomlin is not trying to hide his intentions at all.
Based on things he has said in the past, though, something feels a little off.
Could the Shedeur Sanders hype be a distraction from the Pittsburgh Steelers' real draft plans?
The noise around Pittsburgh and Shedeur Sanders has been nonstop the past couple of weeks, and all signs seem to point to the Steelers taking Sanders if he falls to the 21st pick. It feels like something they just can’t help themselves from doing, driven by a bit of desperation and a pattern of not learning from past mistakes, like when they reached for Kenny Pickett.
Right now, it’s a coin flip on what they actually do. But with how publicly Mike Tomlin has praised Sanders, it’s hard to ignore the possibility. The Steelers have a track record of telegraphing their draft crushes — just look at the hype around Najee Harris or Devin Bush before they were picked in the first round. Even though Tomlin has admitted to throwing up smokescreens during pro days and visits, sometimes their intentions still seem pretty obvious.
The team has made it clear they will be drafting a quarterback in some capacity this year. That said, it’s unusual for a team picking at 21 to be this open about who they like. If another team is high on Sanders, this could easily prompt a trade back into the first round to grab him before Pittsburgh gets the chance.
Or maybe this is all a carefully laid trap — hyping up Sanders to get other teams to move up, pushing more defensive linemen down the board and right into their laps at 21.
Whether the praise is legit or just draft week smoke, we will find out Thursday. But for fans hoping for a real franchise quarterback, the hope is they go in a different direction.