With a little over three weeks to go until the 2022 NFL Draft, the biggest question facing the Pittsburgh Steelers doesn’t seem to be if they’ll draft a quarterback. It appears to be more about which quarterback will get the call from Head Coach Mike Tomlin. My own personal feelings aside, it’s hard not to wrap your head around the evidence that is building towards this move.
Tomlin and out-going General Manager Kevin Colbert have been to the Pro Days for Desmond Ridder, Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis and Matt Corral. Colbert attended the Pro Day for Sam Howell but Tomlin was unable to go due to duties at the NFL’s Owners’ Meetings. If you’ve followed how the Steelers attack the draft then you know visits by the tandem of Tomlin and Colbert are a huge sign of their draft intentions.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have:
-Met formally with all of the top QBs at the NFL Combine
-Sent the house to every top QBs pro day
-Spent top 30 visits on all of the top QBs
They are taking a QB. It’s happening, folks. Get ready. pic.twitter.com/WVTTA2OLk6
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) April 4, 2022
But… as part of their 30 allowed “official visits,” all of these QBs will be making their way to the Steel City as will Nevada’s Carson Strong. Tomlin and Colbert did not attend his Pro Day. Strong is an outlier in this group of QBs for one other reason; he lacks the mobility the others offer and is preferred by Tomlin.
If that mobility is as prized as much as we’ve been led to believe then Strong has to be out of the equation. Should he drop into the later rounds however he could be an option and that’s why they are continuing to show interest in him. He has a big arm and has experience which could be enough to take a chance on.
Ultimately this is about those top four or five guys. Willis and Pickett are unlikely to be available at 20 and a trade up for either would require more capital than the Steelers really have. Considering their other needs I just can’t see it. Where the focus should probably be is on that second round pick. If the Steelers feel passionately about Ridder, Corral or Howell, then moving up at the point won’t be quite as costly.
Personally, I think there are too many needs to either trade for or even draft one of these QBs this year. Next season’s draft class is going to be better but then again, I don’t run the team and my thinking probably differs from that of the current brain trust. My gut feeling tells me they’d like to take a QB this year and not have it preclude them from taking one again next year. However, I don’t feel like they’ll be selling the farm for any of these guys either. Still, I think we need to prepare ourselves… a QB being drafted in three weeks feels like its’ inevitable.
