We’ve finally reached the 2025 draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the NFL.
Here’s our “Breakfast With Benz” analysis of what the Steelers should do — and what they will do — this weekend.
First round: Pick No. 21
What the Steelers should do: Draft a defensive lineman.
They need a replacement for (and improvement on) Larry Ogunjobi. They also need to start grooming a successor for Cameron Heyward.
As our “Breakfast With Benz” draft analyst Matt Williamson suggested, all three of the following players might still be on the board at No. 21:Mississippi’s Walter Nolen, Michigan’s Kenneth Grant and Oregon’s Derrick Harmon. If that happens, I’d trade down in — but not completely out of — the first round to get another Day 2 pick.
If that can’t be done, I’d take Nolen at No. 21. If they can trade down, I’d target Grant, who is more of a nose tackle than an end.
“I think the nose is a disappearing animal the way that the fullback is a disappearing animal in our game,” head coach Mike Tomlin said.
Except that I think Grant is a nose tackle who can also get upfield and help rush the passer. That does make him an animal: a unicorn.
What the Steelers will do: I think they’ll plan on doing roughly the same thing — unless Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is available. Then they’ll take him.
Tomlin’s effusive praise of Sanders could be a smokescreen. That wouldn’t stun me. But I also think they are intrigued by the idea of maybe getting the second-best quarterback in the draft at pick No. 21. Hey, they obviously were moved to take the best QB in a bad QB draft two years ago at No. 20 with Kenny Pickett, right?
This feels familiar in that regard. Unfortunately, I think Sanders will be closer to Pickett as a player than any of the top quarterbacks in the AFC that the Steelers are challenged to face so frequently these days (Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, etc.)
I also don’t know how the Steelers would be truly benefitting from such an in-depth misdirection. Are they pumping up Sanders because they are actually planning on taking Dart at No. 21?
Unlikely. And, I mean, how cloak and dagger do they have to get to end up taking one of three defensive linemen — which half of the league is still expecting them to do even if Sanders is still on the board?
That feels like overkill to me.
Not only that, but taking a quarterback Thursday lessens the need to cater to every whim from Aaron Rodgers, and the team doesn’t have to feel boxed in to take one when the draft is in Pittsburgh next year if a better option doesn’t present itself.
I’m lukewarm on Sanders. However, I can see why the Steelers might like him, and I can’t see why they’d feel the need to pull a three-card monte game with him as the hidden prize.
Trading down in the first round
What the Steelers should do: As I mentioned above, if the Steelers can move back but stay in the first round, I’d strongly consider it. It would be great to recover the second-round selection lost in the DK Metcalf trade, but getting an additional third-rounder—considering what those picks will likely be used on — would be fine too.
What the Steelers will do: They probably will stay put — especially if Sanders is there and they want him.
“Particularly in recent years, there’s just always been people that we’rereally excited about when we’re on the clock,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “It’s easy to get excited about prospects when you have done the work. I imagine I’ll be in the same state this year.”
The Steelers haven’t traded down in the first round since selecting Casey Hampton in 2001. I don’t expect that trend to change Thursday.
Trading up in the first round
What the Steelers should do: They should stay put or trade back. I don’t want them to trade up for a quarterback. They shouldn’t have to trade up for one of those three defensive linemen, and I can’t envision what else would tempt them to sacrifice other picks to move up in Round 1.
They only have six picks this year as it is. And I can’t imagine they’re going to be high on sacrificing picks next year when the draft is in Pittsburgh.
What the Steelers will do: “I don’t know how realistic it is that we move up, but you never know,” general manager Omar Khan said Tuesday. “I think staying put or moving back, probably is a better, bigger option for us.”
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It isn’t realistic. Nor is it necessary. I doubt they’ll trade up.
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Trading George Pickens
What the Steelers should do: Unless they can sign him to a long-term extension on a stunningly friendly hometown discount before the first round starts, I’d trade him if I could get that second-round pick back.
Pickens is likely to hold out anyway if he doesn’t get his extension. My guess is Pickens will be one giant distraction all year if he doesn’t get the extension he wants. You could replace him with a first-round receiver, still get a good defensive lineman in Round 2, a running back in Round 3, and a Round 4 quarterback, corner or tight end.
Or even another defensive lineman.
What the Steelers will do: Rumors are starting to circulate about Dallas and Green Bay both potentially having an interest in acquiring Pickens, but my belief is the Steelers hold onto him.
The Steelers seem enamored of the idea of having Pickens and Metcalf as a dual-threat combo for at least one year with Rodgers, Mason Rudolph or a rookie QB. And I’m going to assume Tomlin thinks he can manage Pickens through this potential walk year in the final season of his entry-level deal.
I think he is wrong. But I bet he thinks he can do it effectively.
Drafting a running back
What the Steelers should do: Use a third-round pick on a running back after they take a defensive lineman. Even if they do trade Pickens and get a second-round selection, they can split the first two picks between receiver and defensive line and be in a fine position to acquire a back who can complement Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell.
It’s a deep class at that position. Even if the first five or six are gone, the Steelers are still likely to find a good one in Round 3.
What the Steelers will do: I think the franchise has a similar opinion. They’ll do the same thing. They might wait until the fourth round if they truly value a corner, QB, receiver or tight end in Round 3.
That’d still be fine. A potential quality runner will still be on the board by their pick in Round 4 (No. 123).
“It’s important to get to know those guys as much as possible and sort out, you know, how we would stack those guys and take those guys,” Khan said of the deep RB and D-Line classes.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper has put draftable grades on more than 30 running backs.
Getting a QB even if it’s not in the first round
What the Steelers should do: Yes. They absolutely should.
In fact, I think Rounds 3-5 are pretty fertile hunting grounds for quarterbacks this year. In deeper QB drafts, that’s where the Jackson Darts and Shedeur Sanders’ of the world should go. But if those guys get over-slotted in 2025, then a Will Howard (Ohio State), Tyler Shough (Louisville), Kyle McCord (Syracuse) or Jalen Milroe (Alabama) would make a lot of sense for this team given that the club wants to bring four quarterbacks to training camp.
But justmake sure that at least a defensive lineman and a running back have been taken already.
What the Steelers will do: I’m confident the Steelers agree on this.
My only concern is that they actually draft a QB too high.
Listen: Chris Adamsk and Tim Benz discuss the 2025 NFL Draft from a Pittsburgh perspective