After a slow start in 2017, Ben Roethlisberger played some of his best football over the Steelers' final 10 games, earning yet another Pro Bowl berth.
In the days following his 469-yard, five-touchdown performance in a 45-42 playoff loss to Jacksonville, Roethlisberger told teammates he would like to play three more seasons, a bit of a surprise considering the quarterback had openly contemplated retirement just a year before.
If you're the Steelers, do you trust that the now-36-year-old Roethlisberger isn't going to change his mind again after the 2018 season? Or what about 2019?
Because of that, the team is seriously considering selecting a quarterback in the first round of this year's draft, which will be held April 26 through 28. Or, at least, they're certainly interested in the process of the selection of a quarterback.
"If a quarterback is in his 30s, you better know what the market looks like," Mike Tomlin said recently at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Fla. "You better take yourself through the evaluation and the stacking process, whether or not you’re a true player in that market or it’s a dry run."
That's especially true when you don't have a successor on the roster. And, at this point, the Steelers do not.
Landry Jones, 29, is a nice backup and could probably start for some teams around the league -- his career passer rating of 86.2 would have ranked 20th in the NFL last season -- but he's not Roethlisberger's replacement. Nor is Josh Dobbs, a fourth-round draft pick last year, viewed as that guy at this point, though the Steelers still feel he can develop as Jones has done.
This year's draft offers more depth at the quarterback position than any draft since the historic one in 1983, when six were selected in the first round. That's not to say any of the quarterbacks in this draft will be the next John Elway, Dan Marino or Jim Kelly, all of whom have been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame from that draft, but if they can become long-term starters, nobody will complain.
The order in which those quarterbacks will be selected remains the biggest question. Some analysts like USC's Sam Darnold as the top quarterback prospect. Others like UCLA's Josh Rosen. Still others feel Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, Wyoming's Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson of Louisville should be considered the best.
That's all fine with Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph. A three-year starter and four-year contributor at Oklahoma State, Rudolph finished his career by winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Sammy Baugh awards while earning second-team All-Big 12 recognition. He led the FBS with 377 passing yards per game, completing 65 percent of his passes, and finishing with 37 touchdowns while throwing just nine interceptions.
Some feel Rudolph was simply a system quarterback, while others feel he can develop into a long-term starter. The Steelers, who don't pick until the bottom of the first round at No. 28, just might be in the latter camp. They've shown plenty of interest in Rudolph and could be tempted to select him if he's still available.
That would be just fine for the 6-4 1/2, 235-pound Rudolph, who said he models his game after a pair of familiar names.
"I’ve always had a lot of respect for Peyton Manning, obviously. He’s not playing currently anymore, but being able to meet him at his camp three years in a row and spend some time with him and Eli and Archie was priceless experience," Rudolph said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I’ve always said Peyton and Ben (Roethlisberger), Big Ben, watching the way that he stands in the pocket and delivers the ball, continues to just evade the rush time and time again. So I would say those two guys."
The Steelers obviously wouldn't have a need for Rudolph to play right away. And he'd be fine sitting behind a veteran such as Roethlisberger until his time comes.
Rudolph isn't as mobile as Roethlisberger once was, but his size is certainly comparable, even if he doesn't have the biggest arm in this quarterback group. He still showed plenty enough arm strength to post a career yards-per-passing-attempt of 9.4, including a ridiculous 10.0 in 2017.
"Strengths? I’d say my ability to throw the ball down the field," Rudolph said. "I think I’ve done it accurately at a high level for three years. My production, my leadership, my experience, my starts, 32 wins as a starter. And just the kind of teammate I am, I’m a fun guy to be around, enjoy being part of the team, putting the team first and competing my butt off."
Here are my rankings of the top quarterbacks available in this draft:
Quarterback Rankings
- Josh Allen, 6-5, 237, Wyoming
- Sam Darnold, 6-3, 221, USC
- Baker Mayfield, 6-0 1/2, 215, Oklahoma
- Lamar Jackson, 6-2, 216, Louisville
- Josh Rosen, 6-4, 225, UCLA
- Mason Rudolph, 6-4 1/2, 235, Oklahoma State
- Luke Faulk, 6-3 1/2, 215, Washington State
- Mike White, 6-4 1/2, 235, Western Kentucky
- Kyle Lauletta, 6-2, 222, Richmond
- Riley Ferguson, 6-3, 212, Memphis
If the Steelers want to take a shot at a quarterback later in the draft, knowing how Tomlin values leadership at the position, Ohio State's J.T. Barrett could be brought in to battle Dobbs.
Barrett, who was seemingly at Ohio State forever, was a four-year starter for the Buckeyes, throwing 104 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in four seasons. He was seemingly always at his best in clutch moments and completed 63.5 percent of his passes for his career.
But at 6-1, 227 pounds, he lacks ideal size and many were surprised when he was timed at just 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine. He plays faster than that.
"I feel if you’re going in the first round or the seventh round, that’s what you want. You need one opportunity to showcase who you are as a football player and as a person," Barrett said. "I just need one team to believe in me and I’ll show them who I am.
"Obviously, people have their opinion about who fits better in the NFL and that’s fine. I haven’t paid much attention to it, honestly. The one thing I can do is present J.T. Barrett the best I can. The great opportunity I have here to showcase my skills and control what I can control."