Pittsburgh's brass liked Sanders before their pre-draft meeting with him, and that meeting only reinforced those good feelings. Yet at the end of the day, the Steelers felt that they couldn't pass up the chance to draft Harmon, one of the draft's top-ranked interior defensive-line prospects.

Once considered a contender to be the No. 1 overall pick, the Colorado quarterback was not selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders — the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders — was passed on by quarterback-needy teams including the Giants, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers.