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The Pittsburgh Steelers will make their first pick of the 2025 NFL draft from the No. 21 spot on Thursday night — that is, if they don't trade out of that slot.
According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Steelers could be trying to trade out of the No. 21 overall pick, where many project them to take a defensive lineman or a quarterback.
"[Dianna Russini] just told us that she's hearing the Steelers could be trying to trade out of the No. 21 pick," SiriusXM's Andrew Perloff revealed on Thursday morning.
If the Steelers do trade back, it would be the first time the franchise has done so since 2001. That trade saw the Steelers move down three spots in a deal with the New York Jets that ended with a selection of defensive tackle Casey Hampton at No. 19, which was a wildly successful pick.
In his final press conference before the draft, Steelers general manager Omar Khan admitted that the best option for Pittsburgh might be a trade back or staying put.
“I think staying put or moving back is probably a better, bigger option for us,” he said, before admitting there are certain guys the Steelers will not trade away from.
“The way I look at it is you never really want to trade away from a really good player that can help you and the right guy for us,” Khan said. “By the time we get to Thursday, we’ll have identified certain guys that we will not trade away from.”
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Adding fuel to the fire that the Steelers could trade back, ESPN's Adam Schefter is also hearing that Pittsburgh is interested in moving back from No. 21.
“The Steelers (No. 21) are among the teams interested in moving back from their first-round slot,” Schefter said.
Thanks to the DK Metcalf trade, the Steelers don't have a second-round pick in this year's draft. A trade back from No. 21 could net the Steelers an extra pick or, at the very least, an improved pick later in the draft with a pick swap.
The most common players we've seen mocked to the Steelers are quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart, and defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.
We wouldn't rule out the possibility of the Steelers trading up, also, but we would suspect they would only do so for a quarterback they love, and namely Sanders.
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