On Thursday night, the 2025 NFL Draft will officially start, and months of evaluating prospects will finally lead to teams adding new players to their franchise. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, who currently possess the 21st-overall pick, all signs have been pointing to one player in recent days: Shedeur Sanders.
The quarterback prospect was once in the mix to be the first-overall pick, but after a pre-draft process that hasn’t been kind to him, the experts are predicting a slide for the polarizing star on Thursday. There’s still a chance Sanders could be selected at No. 3 by the New York Giants or No. 9 by the New Orleans Saints, but all the experts and insiders are confident that won’t happen.
If Sanders makes it past New Orleans, he should fall right into Pittsburgh’s hands, because no other team picking ahead of the Steelers needs a quarterback. That means the Steelers are set up perfectly to walk away from the first round with a potential franchise quarterback— at least that’s what it seemed like until Thursday morning.
Early on the day of the draft, veteran NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the Denver Broncos have been fielding calls from teams interested in moving up to Denver’s No. 20 pick. If a team is trying to trade up to 20, it’s to select a quarterback.
Broncos have fielded calls in recent days from teams interested in potentially moving up to Denver’s No. 20 selection, per sources. The Broncos currently hold the draft slot in front of Pittsburgh’s No. 21. pic.twitter.com/DcJiIqkKr6
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 24, 2025
Teams are interested in trading in front of the Steelers to potentially draft a quarterback
Everyone knows Pittsburgh needs a quarterback. Additionally, while teams like the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and New Orleans Saints are not interested in drafting quarterbacks in the top 10, all three are reportedly trying to land one late in the first round or early in the second. Sitting behind Pittsburgh would almost certainly take one of those options off the board.
If the Broncos are actually going to move out of the 20th pick, that would be bad news for the Steelers. That means the team will either have to join the bidding war for the 20th pick, and try to move up one spot to get the quarterback it wants, or Pittsburgh will have to anxiously sit at 21 and wait to see what happens.
The Steelers could be willing to take the third quarterback of the first round, regardless of who it is, or they could just move to another position if the guy they want is gone. Until anything happens, Pittsburgh will just hope the Broncos stay at No. 20.