ESPN NFL Draft analysts disagree on path Pittsburgh should take at No. 21 overall

With a SportsCenter Special on ESPN2 on Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s experts sat down to discuss their projections for the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. That included the first-round selection for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum had the selection for the Steelers at No. 21 overall. He took Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart.

“This is a guy that has all the measurables in the world,” Tannenbaum said. “He only had 1.5 sacks this year and, look, this is a traits over production pick.”

That’s been the conversation for quite some time with Stewart. His production in college didn’t necessarily match the elite athletic traits he possesses.

So can an NFL team unlock his full upside? That’s something they’ll be weighing.

“There’s a concern, why didn’t he have more?” Tannenbaum said. “He had a Combine workout that was almost akin to literally what Myles Garrett did at Indy going back six years ago. So to me you can’t pass him up, and I would love to pair his production, I mean his ability, and get his production with someone like Mike Tomlin.”

That pick wasn’t fully embraced by the rest of the ESPN cast, which included draft analysts Mel Kiper and Matt Miller. Miller weighed in as the dissenting voice.

“I was going to say, I know Shemar Stewart has a lot of traits, but I’ve never seen him throw the ball, and that’s what Pittsburgh needs: Someone who can get the ball out,” Miller said. “You traded for DK Metcalf, you have George Pickens, who was unhappy last year with the quarterback play. So what is your plan? Is it 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers? And let’s remember, they don’t have a pick in Round 2, where we could say, ‘Oh maybe they’ll wait for a guy. Maybe they’ll select Quinn Ewers or Jalen Milroe in Round 2.’ They don’t have a second-round pick. So they don’t have that long-term plan at quarterback.”

That might be the most important thing for Pittsburgh. Because even if you can get by with Rodgers for a year or two, eventually you need a long-term answer at quarterback.

Is this the year that Pittsburgh takes that stab? Perhaps, depending on who’s still left on the board.

“I don’t know that you can bypass a Jaxson Dart here if he’s the best one left on the board,” Miller said. “And sure, maybe Aaron Rodgers is coming in to be that guy, but Shemar Stewart… good player, 1.5 sacks in each of the last three years, and his run defense also not that great. His run block win rate not that great as well. More of a project for me. Now having him opposite TJ Watt, that’s exciting, yes, we love the explosiveness and the length.

“But I think Pittsburgh’s got to figure out a quarterback before we can think about any other position when you have TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith.”