INDIANAPOLIS -- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And that could really be the case for the Steelers this offseason as they begin their quest to find a successor to Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers haven't been in a situation where they have had to find their next quarterback in nearly two decades since selecting Roethlisberger in the first round of the 2004 draft.
They've used some picks over the years on the position, including taking Mason Rudolph in the third round in 2018, but even then it was with the idea that Rudolph could serve as the backup for a while and learn behind a future Hall of Fame player.
Now? With Roethlisberger retired, the search takes on a whole new meaning.
And that's when mistakes can happen.
Greg Cosell has worked for NFL Films for 42 years breaking down game tape. And he's seen instances where teams without a true starting quarterback have made that big mistake of reaching at the game's most important position.
"There’s really two drafts each year. There’s the quarterback draft and the rest of the draft," Cosell said Wednesday as the quarterbacks took center stage here at the annual NFL Scouting Combine. "It’s true. For all we know, four quarterbacks could go in the first round again. Nobody knows. They can say what they want right now. I know this isn’t politically correct right now, but I’ll say it, when you don’t have a girlfriend, they all look like a 10. If you don’t have a quarterback, you tend to jump and take one."
In Cosell's opinion, the Steelers don't currently have a starting-quality quarterback on their roster in Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins.
And that can lead to making a mistake such as one he cited made by the Jets in 2009. With only Eric Ange on their roster after renting Brett Favre for a year, the Jets were in need of a quarterback and got shut out in the free agent market.
Then general manager Mike Tannenbaum knew he wasn't going to be able to get the top quarterback, Matthew Stafford, who went No. 1 overall to Detroit. So, he worked a deal with the Browns to move up to the fifth pick from 17 to acquire Mark Sanchez.
"They needed a quarterback," Cosell said. "They knew Sanchez was not the fifth pick in the draft based on his traits and talent. But they needed a quarterback."
The Steelers could find themselves in a similar spot if they don't sign a veteran quarterback in free agency this year and feel the pressure to move up from their current first-round pick -- at 20 -- to secure a young quarterback to groom and potentially replace Roethlisberger.
But who should that be?
Pitt's Kenny Pickett, Liberty's Malik Willis and Matt Corral of Ole Miss are considered the top guys available.
And all can state a case for being the first quarterback selected.
But none are currently considered among the top 10 players available in this draft.
All also believe they should be that guy.
"I do," Pickett said Wednesday. "And I think knowing how to win is key. That's the No. 1 thing at this position. And all my hard work over the years culminated in that last season. It wasn't an overnight thing. I didn't wake up and all that fell into my lap. It was years and years of hard work with my teammates and coaches. We went out there and had the season we all expected to have."
Willis made his case, as well.
"In my opinion, I just think it’s my willingness to learn," he said. "My willingness to try to be great and the physical tools I’ve been blessed with. And my work ethic."
But, he also added when asked again later if he thinks he should be first, "I think so, but I don’t make those decisions. I hate that for me."
Corral, meanwhile, went even further about why he should be the top quarterback selected.
"I know what separates myself is my leadership, obviously," Corral said. "My physical ability, my arm talent. It's me having the understanding of Xs and Os and protections, I think that is what separates me. What really separates me is my ability to lead a team. I really understand what it feels like to be vulnerable around people who don't necessarily want to be vulnerable. I was one of those guys who didn't want to talk about emotion. That is just how I was. I never talked about crying. If I was crying, I would be like, stop crying. I was raised with two older brothers.
"There are lot of players on my team who weren't necessarily comfortable talking about their issues and them seeing me be more vulnerable made them feel more comfortable. Having that understanding of what I want to get out of this, what they want to get out of this and us being on the same page, I think that is a huge thing. When you take care of the life stuff, I feel that is when football takes care of itself. That is what we saw in '21. We weren't the best team. We weren't the most talented team but we played the best together, and I think that was part of it."
The Steelers have met with all of the top quarterbacks in this draft. They'll continue to monitor the situation and look into the on-field workouts that are upcoming. They'll conduct background checks on these guys. They want to get this right.
But they also don't want to make a mistake if they go into the rookie class for a future quarterback.
They don't want to make that same mistake the Jets did with Sanchez.
New York had a good roster in 2009. They reached the AFC Championship in each of his first two seasons -- though more so because of their defense than anything he did. But he was the toast of the town.
But by 2012, he had been run out of town.
The Steelers want to avoid that.
"That’s where mistakes are made," Cosell said.