Are the Steelers taking Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the first round of Thursday’s draft?
It depends on if you ask local or national NFL experts.
Mike Tomlin, for the first time in memory, gave a long answer about a player during the pre-draft news conference.
He spoke at length about Sanders.
“The things that stood out were evident in his video,” Tomlin said. “There is a toughness there that doesn’t get talked about enough. There is a competitive spirit there that doesn’t get talked about enough. I know he’s very talented and he’s made a lot of plays for his university and his team, but his intangible qualities displayed on tape were impressive to me.
The national media thinks Tomlin was being straight-forward and local media is skeptical.
Nationally, Peter Schrager, now with ESPN, has mocked Sanders to Pittsburgh with the 21st pick.
On FanDuel, you can bet over/under where a player gets picked. Sanders is at pick 21.5. The Steelers pick at 21 so, it’s basically a bet on will the Steelers take him or no.
Locally 93.7 The Fan Steelers insider Mark Kaboly, of The Pat McAfee Show said on Pomp and Joe, he can see the team taking a running back IF the defensive lineman they want is not available.
When it comes to Sanders, Kaboly thinks Tomlin was talking up the QB to throw off other NFL teams.
The Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac said during his chat on Wednesday that it’s a small chance the Steelers take Sanders.
Tomlin told the media on Tuesday that he likes to play games leading up to the draft.
“I think about it at pro days as you guys watch us move, who I interact with, where I go,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes it’s real, sometimes it’s not.”
“The same could be said about who we bring in on pre-draft visits,” added Tomlin.
The PM Team talked about it on Wednesday.
Chris Mueller and Donny Chedrick are going with the local Steelers media and think the Steelers are smoke screening everyone with Sanders.