NFL insider drops bombshell on Steelers ditching Shedeur Sanders despite being "comfortable" with Coach Prime's son

While many expected the Pittsburgh Steelers to select a quarterback early in the 2025 NFL draft, the team drafted Ohio State's Will Howard to its scanty quarterback room in the sixth round.

The most unexpected thing was that the Steelers didn't try to take Shedeur Sanders before the Cleveland Browns did, even though he was still available until the fifth round after being projected as an early-round pick and the second-best quarterback in the whole draft class.

The Steelers initially intended to select Sanders in the draft, but after the event started, the organization changed its mind, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday.

"The Steelers were comfortable with Shedeur Sanders as a distributing point guard type, which makes it a mild surprise they didn't take him with their fourth-round pick," Fowler wrote.

"To borrow another basketball analogy, those inside the Steelers' building did not reach a consensus on Sanders as a slam dunk pick. But the debate was close enough to justify taking him."

Coach Prime's son, Shedeur Sanders, slid down to the fifth round in the recently completed draft remains one of the biggest mysteries. While the Steelers did invite Sanders in for a pre-draft visit, they ultimately chose not to select the former Colorado quarterback because some of the team's decision-makers weren't sure he could become their franchise quarterback.

The Steelers hope Will Howard, their sixth-round selection, develops into a player who can contend for a starting position in 2025 and beyond. Additionally, many still think that Aaron Rodgers will sign with Pittsburgh at some point.

Will Shedeur Sanders be a starter in the NFL in 2025?

Even though it's still unclear who the Cleveland Browns will start at quarterback in 2025, Shedeur Sanders is expected to get a proper chance to compete for the spot.

Sanders will need to overcome some challenges, though, if he hopes to win the race for the starting position. The most important of these is to figure out how to make an impression on his coaches throughout preseason and training camp.

Only four signal-callers selected in the fifth or later rounds of the draft have ended up starting for their team in Week 1 of their rookie season since 1967. Having said that, Sanders could beat out competition from Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Dillon Gabriel to become the first passer taken in the fifth round of the modern draft period to start his team's first game as a rookie.