The pre-draft process is a great way for NFL teams to get more accustomed to players. Having intimate meetings and revealing visits with players allows coaches and front office executives to get a gauge on a players’ personality and demeanor, which complements their evaluations from watching film from their college football days. Sometimes that can be great for the player, but sometimes it can be bad.
For Shedeur Sanders, it seems to be the latter. Projected to be a Top 5 pick for almost the entire pre-draft process, Sanders has seen his draft stock dip significantly in recent weeks. It’s possible this is all smoke and mirrors from an interested team within the Top 10, but Sanders’ blunt personality doesn’t appear to sit right with many NFL franchises. Despite that, there have been strong links to a couple of quarterback-needy teams: namely the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Both make sense given that the Saints may lose Derek Carr for a large chunk of the 2025 season, and the Steelers haven’t truly replaced Russell Wilson or Justin Fields yet, while they wait for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision. The Steelers would seem to be the best fit, especially since Mike Tomlin has done an amazing job dealing with big egos and personalities in the past.
Shedeur Sanders’ meeting with Steelers has become a controversial topic
But is Tomlin done with those kinds of players? It seems that may be the case, as a report from NFL insider Aaron Wilson surfaced on Thursday saying that Sanders’ meeting with the Steelers “didn’t go well”.
I’ve heard he will not be a Pittsburgh Steeler. I heard that meeting did not go well. And that wasn’t from someone telling me that, and this is always the assumption, because someone is trying to affect these boards.
This contradicts Sanders’ own perception of the Steelers meeting, which he called a “10“. He appeared thrilled with how it went, while other reporters have also said it went rather well.
It’s impossible to know which reports are truthful and which are not. Until draft night, Sanders will have to keep waiting and hope for the best.
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