Steel Town could have become Sanders Town on Thursday night. 30 years after the Pittsburgh Steelers took a flyer out on Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart, the Rooney’s had another opportunity to anoint a polarizing Buffaloes signal caller.
For a moment, it appeared that Sanders would be introducing TMZ to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was on the clock, Modelo was coursing through the veins of their faithful zealots, and then they took defensive tackle Derrick Harmon.
It was as on-brand as any pick in the first round. Harmon is the human embodiment of Tomlin football. He’s an extremely athletic interior pass rusher who looked great at the combine, and can move around the front four in multiple sub-packages. Whereas most teams fret over their quarterbacks' carousel, the Steelers appear to prioritize the most important position in sports below their Primanti Bros. orders.
Mason Rudolph throwing to DK Metcalf is a more conflicting recipe than pills and alcohol. However, they’re consistently scouring for quarterback coupons instead of splurging on a long-term investment. Time will tell whether the Steelers are playing chess grandmasters or blindfolded Connect Four. Comparatively, Sanders is more appealing. He may throw multiple picks one week, take 10 sacks or throw for 300 yards, but he offered promise.
On the other hand, Red gave Andy a piece of advice in Shawshank Redemption that can be applied to reaching in the NFL Draft. “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”
For what it’s worth, Harmon is a refrigerator of a man who consumes interior blockers like it’s Coney Island on the 4th of July. Harmon projects as a pivotal plug in the middle of a defense that was gashed by the Eagles, and Ravens down the stretch. Against the pass, he’s an equally disruptive force. Last season, he led the NCAA in pressures and finished second in pressure rate.
Meanwhile, Sanders is more deficient than his branding will allow his legion of parasocial followers to realize. He’s not the first quarterback to be electric in college and has been found to possess dull tools by NFL standards. His ceiling may just be Teddy Bridgewater or Chad Pennington with an extra dosage of charisma.
Sanders’ shortcomings aren’t limited to his cockiness or luxury watch obsession. He was a sack magnet with velcro hands, who held onto the ball to his detriment at Colorado. He’s also not athletic enough to escape NFL pass rushers who will bear down on him when he doesn’t get the ball out quickly.
For multiple reasons, Sanders in Pittsburgh would have been akin to an oil rigger buying a Tesla. Most importantly, cold-weather quarterbacks are typically capable of throwing laser fastballs. The velocity on Sanders' throws are right at the speed limit. Sanders may be destined for a domed arena such as New Orleans, Arizona, Indianapolis, Vegas or even Los Angeles. Pittsburgh doesn’t meet that criteria, which is something Shedeur’s helicopter parent hinted at a year ago when he suggested Shedeur would prefer not to play in a warm weather city.
He may defy the odds elsewhere and thrive. But in 2025, Sanders wasn’t a fit for the climate or Arthur Smith’s offense. You can argue fitting into an Arthur Smith offense isn’t the flex the Steelers organization thinks it is, but that’s the offensive coordinator they’re riding with for year 18.
Tomlin is the type of coach who was more traumatized by the 299 they surrendered to the Ravens and the 131 yards the Eagles ran up on them, than by the erratic passing attack. The options for Pittsburgh at quarterback are dwindling, but not exhausted. They’ve bungled their quarterback situation this offseason, but if they don’t believe he was the guy then doubling down would have been the worst possible course of action.