Steelers Star Sends Message to Shedeur Sanders

If the Pittsburgh Steelers select Colorado's Shedeur Sanders in the NFL Draft, they may have to tinker his mechanics before throwing him to the wolves.

In the latest episode of his "Not Just Football" podcast, Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward addressed the recent discourse surrounding Sanders' tendency to pat the ball before throwing and stated that such a quirk could get him into trouble at the next level.

"It does matter," Heyward said. "You're providing more time, for one, the defender to get a strip sack. If you're bringing it down to just coil the ball just a little bit, that's more time for us to really get after it ... You're just providing more time for a defender at the line, and I've seen a lot of corners jump routes that way. You start to look at every part of a quarterback and when he's ready to settle and when he's ready to throw. That's something guys are gonna look at. A lot of rookies tend to struggle in those instances."

Sanders, who recently concluded his top-30 visit with Pittsburgh, is expected to be the second quarterback off the board behind Miami's Cam Ward.

The 23-year-old was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner this past season after throwing for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but he's seen his stock take a hit in recent weeks.

The Cleveland Browns and New York Giants both could use a signal caller with the No. 2 and 3 overall picks, respectively, though neither appears particularly likely to take Sanders as of now.

The New Orleans Saints have gained steam as a potential landing spot at No. 9, but if he gets past them, the Steelers could suddenly be in position to select him either at No. 21 or by trading up, with the latter scenario being less probable given they don't have a second-round pick after acquiring DK Metcalf.

Sanders is a true pocket-passer, and while he's incredibly accurate, his predisposition towards patting the ball may not fly in the NFL given both the throwing windows and margin for error are smaller.

New York Jets safety Andre Cisco pointed out the potential deficiency in Sanders' game after highlights from his Pro Day surfaced, while other players such as Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons chimed in and agreed with the sentiment that it could lead to negative consequences for the young quarterback.

Boy better stop patting that ball, we breakin onnat earlyyyy https://t.co/dZ3gl039up
— Andre Cisco (@andrecisco7) April 4, 2025

There's plenty of others, such as New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, who carry an opposing view and don't believe it'll snowball into a major issue.

The verdict is still out though, and it remains to be seen if Sanders changes things up or holds firm and sticks by what's gotten him here.

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