Omar Khan rejects narrative Steelers passed on Shedeur Sanders: 'We got the player that we wanted'

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a glaring hole at quarterback coming into Thursday’s Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft. It’s Friday, and the Steelers still have no long-term answer at the most important position on the field. The Steelers had the chance to address the position with pick No. 21. Both Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders and Ole Miss‘s Jaxson Dart were on the board, but Pittsburgh passed.

General manager Omar Khan instead decided to take Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. Despite the outside pressure, Khan said he didn’t feel tempted to select a signal-caller.

“We were on the clock,” Khan said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “We got the player that we wanted.”

Pittsburgh let Russell Wilson and Justin Fields walk in free agency. Aaron Rodgers remains a free agent and has given no definitive answer on if he wants to play a 21st NFL season. The Steelers’ quarterback room is currently made up of Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. The Steelers could draft a quarterback in the middle rounds, though it’s important to note they do not own a second-round pick.

Steelers pass on Shedeur Sanders, go defense in Round 1

But Pittsburgh had other needs to address. In the end, they went with the top-rated player left on their board; that ended up being Harmon. Khan said they even fielded several trade offers, but Harmon was a player they weren’t passing up. Head coach Mike Tomlin said they felt an “extreme urgency” to upgrade their defensive line.

“Extreme urgency,” Tomlin said. “To be quite honest with you, there’s no substitute for young talent. You don’t have a chance to fill a quality defense unless you’re stout inside and up front. This is a young guy, man, that has an opportunity to learn from the likes of Cam Heyward and put his hand in that pile and be a significant contributor for us for years to come.”

Harmon spent the majority of his college career at Michigan State. In 2021, Harmon redshirted but appeared in four games. He played in all 12 games in 2022 and finished with 30 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks.

In 2023, Harmon played in all 12 games in 10 starts and tallied 40 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. The 21-year-old transferred to Oregon last year and had his best season, posting 45 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles. Harmon was selected to The Associated Press All-America Second Team and All-Big Ten Conference Third Team.