“You’d be a fool not to take me and you’re going to be lucky to have me if you do.” That’s the kind of talk that screams QB1. Call it confidence, call it swagger, but if any NFL teams were still on the fence about Shedeur Sanders stepping into their league like he already runs the show—consider those doubts erased. The Colorado QB didn’t just pull up to the 2025 draft process with a clean fit and highlight reel. He pulled up with conviction—and made it loud enough for all 32 teams to hear.

On the April 15th episode of 2 Legendary with Shedeur Sanders, the former Buffs QB dropped a straight-up alpha quote when asked if he sees himself as a franchise QB. “I always got something to prove, but to myself and the franchise that drafts me,” Shedeur said. “But if I didn’t feel like I was a franchise quarterback, I wouldn’t even play the game.” Shedeur Sanders wasn’t bluffing. “If I didn’t feel like I was one of the best—and I’m going to be one of the best to play the game—then I wouldn’t wake up and put countless hours.”

That ain’t cocky. That’s the type of grit you want from your QB1. And while he’s been making the rounds with teams across the board, one name hit different—Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin. When asked about his favorite moment through the whole process, Shedeur didn’t hesitate. “It was sitting down with Coach Tomlin,” he said. “Like, understanding what he did in the NFL, his impact… just being able to meet him in person was extremely cool for me.”

They even grabbed dinner together, and Shedeur soaked it all in. “He was just talking to me straight up like a man… I appreciated his perspective on things and what’s going on overall.” No cap, no fluff, and no media polish. Just mutual respect between a second youngest Super Bowl-winning coach and a QB prospect cut from the same cloth—grit, leadership, and legacy.

As real as that connection was, here’s the kicker—Tomlin and the Steelers might not even get a chance to pull the trigger. The Steelers are low-key parked at pick No. 21, and chatter’s swirling that the Saints could leapfrog the line to snag Sanders at six. The buzz from Bleacher Report’s NFL scouting crew is that New Orleans is considering a trade-up to grab him, seeing a ton of potential.

That leaves Pittsburgh at a crossroads. With no locked-in QB for 2025, they’ve got every reason to consider jumping up the board themselves—but that’ll come at a cost. And with Sanders’ stock swinging in recent weeks, the game of chicken is officially on. Still, the Steelers have done their homework. Sanders’ pre-draft visit to Pittsburgh wasn’t a quick chat—it was a pretty long catch-up. According to ESPN’s Peter Schrager, Shedeur met with Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith and got the full tour of the facility. Schrager called Pittsburgh a perfect backstop if Sanders slips. “It would be a really good situation considering the weapons, the organization, the culture, the city.”

Shedeur agreed—sort of. But in classic Sanders fashion, he flipped the script. “That’s on the people,” he said. “That’s on the other franchises that could make that mistake of letting me go there.” So yeah. He’s watching. And if teams start second-guessing and he slides to 21? Well, someone’s about to get a quarterback with a whole lot to prove and no fear of proving it.

Shedeur Sanders’ meeting with the Steelers: how did it go?

The meeting wasn’t just a check-the-box visit—it was a deep dive. Shedeur Sanders’ pre-draft encounter with the Steelers stretched to a whopping 5 hours, and it wasn’t all surface-level chit-chat. This was a sit-down where Pittsburgh peeled back the layers of who Shedeur is—on the field, off the field, and in between. “You understand the mindset and why they win a lot,” Shedeur said. “You see how Coach Tomlin is as a person and the values the team has. What he preaches from his staff down is similar to my dad.”

That’s big praise—comparing Tomlin’s culture to that of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. And that admiration? It goes both ways. Pittsburgh’s brass isn’t just sniffing around for potential—they’re looking for the guy who can carry the franchise forward. Shedeur Sanders even called it a “ten out of ten” visit.

If the Steelers play this right and the draft board breaks their way, they might just land their QB of the future. But they’ll have to move quick, play smart, and maybe even gamble a little. Because Shedeur Sanders isn’t waiting around. And if he lands in Pittsburgh, every team that passed him will hear about it for years to come. As draft night looms, one thing’s for sure: the Steelers know who Shedeur is. And if the stars align, he might be the next big name slinging it in Pittsburgh.