Former Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders slipped all the way out of the first round Thursday night and is still on the board as Day 2 of the NFL Draft gets underway.

One potential landing spot for Sanders ahead of the draft was the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 21 overall pick, but Pittsburgh drafted former Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon there instead.

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes the Steelers made a mistake by not selecting Shedeur Sanders. He added that he believes the Saints should have taken Sanders No. 9 overall, but he definitely feels like the Steelers should have taken him at 21.

“I had him at 5. This is an organization that has not won a playoff game in nine years. They haven’t had any losing seasons in a long time… but they haven’t won a playoff game in nine years,” Mel Kiper said as the Steelers were on the clock.

“In this division, with [Joe] Burrow and Lamar [Jackson] and the AFC loaded with great quarterbacks, and you have Mason Rudolph – and there’s Shedeur sitting there and you have no second-round pick, where’s the young quarterback coming in? I’m taking Shedeur Sanders. If I’m Pittsburgh, Shedeur Sanders, to pass on him, at this stage, at pick 21, come on.”

The Steelers organization obviously feels differently than Kiper as they selected a defensive lineman who is already being compared to a All-Pro Cam Heyward.

Kiper understands why the Steelers selected Harmon and admits that he had a really strong year in 2024. He simply feels like taking Shedeur Sanders would have set Pittsburgh up better for the future.

“He had a really good season, because he did something at Oregon that he didn’t do at Michigan State, which was compete and compete consistently on a game-to-game basis,” Kiper said. “He really, this year, took his game, from a competitive standpoint, to a new level. I know at Michigan State you kept waiting for it to really hit home and really develop into that kind of player that’s talent indicated he could be. And this year he did it.

“He was disruptive, he got in the backfield. … You watch him, guys, he can get into the backfield. He plays a little high. But he is a guy who can learn from Cam Heyward. They opted for Derrick Harmon because they loved the fact that he could be the next guy to take over for Cam Heyward.”