We are still some 70 days or so out from the National Football League Draft in Detroit, yet it may as well be 700 days for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I say this because the conversations in the front office have to be as animated and dynamic as we’ve seen in some time and I can already hear you… “The Steelers aren’t animated! They are always calm, cool and collected.” You aren’t wrong, but I guarantee things get kicked up a notch when the issue of “quarterbacks” comes up and that’s because the Steelers find themselves in one heck of a conundrum that may last well past 2024.
The Current Slate
Right now the Quarterback Room is Kenny Pickett doing the Spider-man point into the mirror. With Mason Rudolph a free agent and Mitchell Trubisky already gone, it’s Pickett and some photos of Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger on the walls.
It is not a foregone conclusion that Mason Rudolph will be back. His performance over the last three games of the season peaked the interest of several teams for sure, but Rudolph also has to know there isn’t another team in the NFL where he would have as good of a chance of starting as there is right here in Pittsburgh. Could he take a little less money knowing he can beat out Pickett for the starting gig?
While the two factions dig in their heels and carry forth their banners of optimism for their guy, there’s one undying truth to all of this. Neither of these guys is that good. As my esteemed colleague here put it this week, we are in for the Battle of ‘Mid’ when OTAs and Training Camp roll around.
Mike Tomlin: We're gonna have competition at QB this offseason
The competition: pic.twitter.com/LGIvbEARHR
— The Steelers n'at (@thesteelersnat) February 19, 2024
What If Rudy Goes Elsewhere?
We have every expectation that Mason Rudolph will be back with the Steelers but we must also prepare for the fact he might not be. There could be a team that ponies up more money than anyone anticipated with opportunities that one saw coming either. If this happens, then what?
At this juncture, you can absolutely bank on a Tyrod Taylor, Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew getting a call. Kenny Pickett has to have considerable competition if he is to be the guy in 2024 and a seventh round draft pick isn’t likely to be that guy. Steelers’ mouthpiece Gerry Dulac actually said this week, “The Steelers are not interested in bringing in a quarterback who wants to be a starter.”
What? Who signs a contract to play professional football yet doesn’t want to be a starter? That made zero sense and has only made the entire situation worse among fans. Some of you are probably waiting for me to get to the ‘Justin Fields’ thing but I just don’t see it happening for a number of reasons.
The Draft Question
There is no doubt that over the next 70 days we will – because we’ve already heard ad nauseam – hear people suggest the Steelers will draft a QB in the first or second round. Sitting at pick number 20, one must realistically understand that having one of those top guys fall to you is not going to happen. We’d have a better chance of seeing sober people in Tequila Cowboy on a gameday. Caleb Williams and Drake Maye aren’t going to be there and I doubt Jayden Daniels will either. J.J. McCarthy? Bo Nix? Michael Penix, Jr? They will likely be there but aren’t you just adding to the conundrum by drafting one of them that high?
Regardless of where a player is drafted there’s no guarantee of success. Patrick Mahomes was 10th. Big Ben was 11th. Aaron Rodgers was in the 20’s. JaMarcus Russell? He was first and was out of the league before you could blink. But let’s say the Steelers do draft a guy in the first or second round. This would be an immediate “we screwed up” pick much like the Arizona Cardinals when they drafted Josh Rosen only to take Kyler Murray a year later.
But the problems at the most important position in sports wouldn’t just disappear. There would still be competition and there would still be no guarantee that Pickett would rise to the occasion any more than the rookie would. In other words, the Steelers would be kicking the QB can down the road for another season.
Get Ready for These Questions
These questions are going to be re-visited for the next couple of months. Do the Steelers admit they were wrong with Pickett and move up to grab a potential franchise QB? If they do, they are then ignoring some very serious needs along both lines and potentially in the secondary as well. Do the Steelers take a QB in the middle rounds and hope they strike gold? I believe the Steelers will draft a QB in this draft and anyone they do select they will no doubt hope is their golden ticket. That isn’t a strategy however, that’s a prayer. Lastly, do the Steelers load up at positions of need in free agency and the Draft and hope they get decent enough QB play to be competitive?
Right now, that’s the direction I believe they are going. I can’t say if that’s the right move because no matter the course they choose, they’ll still have a mess at the QB position.
