The story of the 2025 NFL Draft was the fall of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Blame Sanders’ pre-draft antics, his team’s faulty information, or a league-wide hesitancy to go all-in on the Sanders family. Whatever the reason, the league didn’t view him as a first-round quarterback. They saw him as a mid-round talent with a handful of questions further clouding his profile.
As such, Sanders fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21. They passed on him in favor of Oregon defensive tackle.
Then he fell to Round 3, and Pittsburgh took Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson. In Round 4, Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer took precedence. The Cleveland Browns’ ended Sanders’ nightmare in Round 5, leaving Ohio State quarterback Will Howard on the Steelers’ board in Round 6.
Head coach Mike Tomlin praised Sanders during the pre-draft process, but Pittsburgh – as one of the league’s quarterback-needy teams – were a main character in his fall.
In an interview with NFL Network during the NFL Draft, head coach Mike Tomlin revealed the trait that the Steelers pursued in the early rounds that indirectly turned them away from Sanders.
“As you guys can see, not only in that pick, but all our others, there’s a commitment here with this draft group to reestablish physicality and big-man presence,” Tomlin said. “And, certainly, Derrick Harmon fits that bill. We like his physical stature, we like his style of play. It’s just what we covet and what we need.”
Tomlin, for all of his shrewd media tactics, was telling the truth. It’s hard to get more physical than a freakishly athletic 313-pound defensive tackle in Round 1. Harmon will help the run defense, where Pittsburgh was merely average in 2024. In the Wild Card Round, that came back to haunt them, leaving the door open for an easy Baltimore Ravens win.
The Steelers’ quest for physicality defined their draft class. In Round 3, Johnson became a safe bet to start in the backfield, bringing newfound power to a zone rushing attack. Sawyer trades speed for power as an astute run defender on the edge. In Round 5, Iowa’s Yahya Black added an even bigger presence to the defensive line, stepping in at nose tackle.
When Rich Eisen joked about the Steelers de facto second-round pick, receiver DK Metcalf, Tomlin asserted that he, too, is a dominating physical presence on the boundary.
Pittsburgh clearly didn’t view Sanders as a first-round talent, but it found one at No. 21 anyway. In doing so, the Steelers got closer to the AFC teams they hope to take down – even without an early-round quarterback that so many had been clamoring for.
