I have been on an island throughout the NFL Draft process. Shedeur Sanders is my guy! I am of the belief that he will be the far better pro than presumptive No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward for several reasons. One of which is I fully expect Sanders will go to a far better run organization over Ward. Look for Ward to deal with the Tennessee Titans' nonsense. As for Sanders, could he go to a blue-blood?
One quarterback-desperate team that checks the blue-blood box is the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Sanders were to miraculously fall to the Steelers at No. 21, I would be stunned. To me, he is a top-five pick that will surely go inside the top 10. For that reason, I cannot fathom him falling past a team like the New Orleans Saints picking at No. 9. Thus, the Steelers will have to trade up massively to get him.
Trying to find the ideal trade partner for the Steelers was difficult, but I settled on the New York Jets.
How Pittsburgh Steelers can trade up for Shedeur Sanders in NFL Draft
Pittsburgh would give up the No. 21 overall pick year and its 2026 first-round pick as part of the deal to acquire Sanders. To try and make the money work a bit better, Pittsburgh gets the Jets' fourth-round pick in 2026, along with the No. 7 overall pick to draft Sanders. The big key here is Pittsburgh has to get above the Saints picking at No. 9. The problem is the Jets might draft Sanders anyway...
We are looking at the Steelers paying a slight premium of around $1.07 million in assets to land him.
Again, trying to find the right team for the Steelers to trade up for in a deal to land Sanders is quite difficult. While I think there is a chance Sanders could fall outside of the top 10, Pittsburgh cannot reasonably expect for that to happen. If that is the case, maybe you try a trade with a team like the Atlanta Falcons picking at No. 15? Then again, do you really need to move up for him at that point?
If the Steelers were dead-set on drafting Sanders, then they may need to give up the farm in a deal with a team like the New England Patriots picking at No. 4. The Patriots may play in the same AFC as the Steelers, but they are one of the few teams picking ahead of the Saints who undeniably do not need a quarterback. Of course, you would have to give up more to get him than in a deal with the Jets.
To tie a bow on this, there are only three reasons to trade up for Sanders. If you have to have him, then trade up to No. 4 in a deal with the Patriots and figure the rest of it out later. If you really want him, then trade up to No. 7 in a deal with the Jets to leapfrog the Saints. And if you think you want him, but are afraid of someone leapfrogging you, then maybe trade up to No. 15 with a team like the Falcons then.
I cannot emphasize this enough that finding the ideal trade partner for the Steelers makes it so hard.