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Shedeur Sanders Predicted to Replace Super Bowl QB in NFL Mock Draft

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Mar 4, 2025 10:41 AM ET

Colorado's Shedeur Sanders is widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks available in the 2025 NFL Draft and even has the fourth-highest odds to be the No. 1 pick (+1000) per ESPN BET.

However, after not participating in any drills or workouts at the NFL scouting combine, which wrapped up on Sunday, his stock took a hit.

That's why it doesn't come as a major shock that in a mock draft done by Dane Brugler of The Athletic, he predicts Sanders will slide all the way down to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 21 pick.

"Sanders is going to be a wild card in this draft," he wrote. "He could go in the top six or fall out of the first round entirely — and neither outcome would be a shock. He is not a first-round quarterback for a lot of NFL teams, which isn’t a major surprise (and matches my evaluation). But all it takes is one front office to roll the dice on his skill set. If Sanders falls out of the top 10, this would be an interesting landing spot.

That puts Sanders in a position to replace quarterback Russell Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl champion, who's coming off his one and only season with the Steelers.

Of course, Pittsburgh has also had its share of playoff struggles in recent years, having lost in the wild-card round four times since 2020 and hasn't won a playoff game since 2016.

This situation also puts Sanders in a spot to potentially be the team's Week 1 starter, as the only other quarterback the Steelers have on the roster hearing into 2025 is Skylar Thompson, who has just three career starts.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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