The Pittsburgh Steelers could've had Shedeur Sanders. Some linked the Colorado QB to the No. 21 overall pick.

Others assumed Pittsburgh would take him at some point as he slid down the board. The reality, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, is that the Steelers did plan to take Sanders. "The Steelers were comfortable with Shedeur Sanders as a distributing point guard type, which makes it a mild surprise they didn't take him with their fourth-round pick," Fowler wrote on Wednesday.

What was the final hold-up? "To borrow another basketball analogy, those inside the Steelers' building did not reach a consensus on Sanders as a slam dunk pick," Fowler wrote. "But the debate was close enough to justify taking him."

MORE: The real reason the Steelers traded George Pickens to the Cowboys The Steelers wound up taking Ohio State's national champion QB Will Howard in the sixth round after Sanders went in the fifth to the Browns. Pittsburgh's quarterback room currently includes Howard, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Howard has potential to stick in the NFL long-term, but Sanders does, too.

The Steelers are still counting on an Aaron Rodgers free agent signing to save their QB fate this year. Then it might be back to the drawing board again, instead of having Sanders on board to potentially learn from Rodgers and take over down the road. MORE NFL NEWS: