Is Top Passing Prospect in Play for Pittsburgh?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are now in pole position to sign veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the final veteran quarterback domino set to fall in a chaotic offseason.

While the Steelers wait for the 41-year-old passer to put pen to paper, they have several NFL Draft implications to consider. After trading for receiver DK Metcalf, the team has just one early pick to work with – No. 21 overall – and a handful of key needs.

This leaves Pittsburgh with the decision to make a selection to bolster its win-now window with an offensive addition or make a move with more long-term benefits. The latter might perpetuate Rodgers’ curse of non-skill position first-round picks (and immediately sour his relationship with the organization), but wouldn’t be without reason.

One such selection would be a quarterback that can learn behind Rodgers and set the team up for success well beyond 2025. The Steelers traded for a top quarterback prospect in former general manager Mike Tannenbaum’s recent mock draft.

“Yes, the Steelers still haven't signed a starting quarterback. Aaron Rodgers met with the team late last week, but signing him would address only the short term,” Tannenbaum wrote. “He's 41 years old. And as of now, Rodgers is still unsigned -- we can't assume he will definitely come to Pittsburgh. Mason Rudolph is currently the QB1. So, I'm making the move to add Sanders. He is incredibly tough, can make all the throws, processes reads quickly in the pocket and delivers accurate balls. He lacks high-end mobility but still shows good pocket movement traits.”

Now, this isn’t a trade up to the top of the draft. Moving up to No. 10 with the Chicago Bears is far more manageable, and doing so for a high-profile quarterback is largely a good-process decision.

It wouldn’t help the 2025 Steelers, but Sanders has a strong enough deep ball to thrive with Metcalf and receiver George Pickens – should he stick around – and would have the best offensive line of his career in front of him. Pittsburgh is positioned to have a good enough supporting cast for a young passer to develop, and a redshirt year is a plus, even if it’s unnecessary.

With that kind of runway, the Steelers could be more likely to tap into his potential than lesser teams atop the draft.

“I'm calling it now: Sanders projects as a top-15, maybe even top-12 starting QB in the NFL,” he continued. “That would be huge for a Steelers franchise that was 20th in QBR last season (51.3).”

Acquiring a franchise quarterback at a discount (compared to where he’s currently projected) would be a win for Pittsburgh, and with compensatory picks for last year’s quarterbacks improving the 2026 haul of draft picks, the Steelers have even more breathing room to make this kind of deal.