Steelers’ Draft Strategy Unaffected by Aaron Rodgers’ Situation, Says Coach Mike Tomlin
As the NFL draft looms just two days away, the Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up to make their pick at No. 21 in Green Bay. However, amidst the buzz and anticipation, one thing remains clear: Aaron Rodgers’ situation will not influence the Steelers’ draft strategy. Coach Mike Tomlin made this point abundantly clear during a news conference on Tuesday.
“It does not,” Tomlin stated firmly when asked if the Rodgers situation would impact the team’s draft approach. While the draft’s outcome could potentially play a role in the team’s pursuit of the four-time MVP, Tomlin emphasized that the draft itself is a separate entity.
“I think what you do in the draft oftentimes affects maybe some talent acquisition that happens after,” Tomlin explained. “We’ll see how the acquisition goes this weekend.”
Interestingly, Tomlin also mentioned that the team doesn’t have a hard deadline for a decision from Rodgers. At the NFL’s annual meeting earlier this month, Tomlin referred to training camp as a “line of demarcation,” but he clarified on Tuesday that those comments weren’t specifically about acquiring any one player.
“I don’t know that I meant that specifically for him or the circumstance,” he said. “I’m just saying in general, when you report to training camp man, it’s a line of demarcation for development of a group individually and collectively.”
When asked about the possibility of Rodgers missing OTAs or minicamp, Tomlin admitted he “hadn’t pondered” the scenario. Meanwhile, Rodgers himself has been transparent about his timeline, as he mentioned during an April 17 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“This entire time I haven’t felt like I owe anyone a decision at any point,” Rodgers said. “This is my life now. … I’ve been up-front with them about that. If you need to move on, if you need to do something, by all means.”
He continued, “… I don’t think it’s fair to the Steelers or anyone while I’m dealing with a lot off the field. I want to keep the lines of communication open. The people who need to know, know.”
Currently, the Steelers have only two quarterbacks on their roster: Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. General Manager Omar Khan reiterated the team’s plan to head into training camp with their usual four signal callers, stating that “all options are on the table” to add two more players.
- Drafting a quarterback is one of those options. The Steelers hosted four quarterbacks during pre-draft visits: Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, Louisville’s Tyler Shough, and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord.
Tomlin, who has a longstanding relationship with Sanders’ father, Deion Sanders, noted that the April 10 pre-draft visit was his first time meeting Shedeur.
“To be quite honest with you, we didn’t talk a whole lot about my relationship with his father,” Tomlin said. “It was a normal pre-draft visit to spend time with a young man, to talk ball, to get to know him as an individual, to get to see how he processes and sees the game and how he articulates his football experience. From that standpoint, it was a very normal visit and a very productive one.”
Tomlin was particularly impressed by the intangible qualities he observed in Shedeur Sanders during their meeting.
“The things that stood out were evident in the video,” Tomlin said. “There’s a toughness there that doesn’t get talked about enough. There’s a competitive spirit there that doesn’t get talked about enough. I know he is very talented, and it’s made a lot of plays for university and his team, but the intangible qualities displayed on tape were impressive to me.”
In addition to quarterbacks, the Steelers also hosted nine running backs and nine defensive linemen during their pre-draft visits.
“I think that’s a credit to how deep maybe those positions are,” Khan said. “And for us it’s important to get to know those guys as much as possible and really sort out how we would stack those guys and take those guys.”
Despite the depth in this year’s group of running backs, Tomlin expressed confidence in Jaylen Warren as the team’s top running back following the departure of 2021 first-round pick Najee Harris to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I certainly feel comfortable with his ability to do so,” Tomlin said of Warren. “He got hampered by injury some in 2024. He appears to be ready to answer that. I know he’s really excited about his opportunity. I don’t think myself or anyone within the question his talents in regards to managing the ability to manage potentially that role.”
The Steelers have six picks in this week’s draft, but they lack a second-round selection after using this year’s No. 52 overall pick as part of the trade package to acquire wide receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks.
Khan dismissed speculation that the team might trade wide receiver George Pickens, who is eligible for a contract extension this summer, to regain a spot in the second round.
“We’re glad we have George and DK here,” Khan said. “I think they’re going to be exciting for everyone to watch.”
Originally Written by: Brooke Pryor
