This is the 11th -- and final -- in a series on the upcoming NFL Draft, which will take place April 28 through 30. Today: Quarterback
The Steelers have dipped their toe into the quarterback water in the draft a little in recent years.
They selected Landry Jones in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. In 2017, they spent a fourth-round pick on Josh Dobbs. In 2018, it was a third-round selection on Mason Rudolph.
That's what you do when you have a quarterback in the back nine of his career, hoping that one of those mid-round draft picks just might work out.
Now, however, with Ben Roethlisberger having retired at the end of the 2021 season, the search for a quarterback takes on a whole new meaning. The Steelers can't just stick their toe into the water any more. Now, at some point, they're going to have to dive in.
Could that be this year? Perhaps.
But, according to Mike Tomlin, that's nothing new.
"We’ve had a high level of urgency for several years in terms of evaluating the position," Tomlin said. "I know I have. I think that’s kind of led us up to being definitive in terms of the things we value and to be able to do a good job."
The addition of Mitch Trubisky in free agency perhaps lessens the absolute need to take a quarterback in the first round of this draft. The second-overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Bears, Trubisky owns a 29-21 record -- including a 25-11 record after his rookie season -- twice led the Bears to the postseason and also has been to a Pro Bowl.
Obviously, things didn't work out well in Chicago in the end, but the Steelers feel he can at the very least be a bridge starter for them in 2022 and perhaps longer.
If they want to give him that chance while continuing to build the team around him, they will pass on a quarterback in the first round of this draft. That wouldn't necessarily mean they also still wouldn't add a quarterback in the draft. After all, the only two currently on the roster after the tragic death of Dwayne Haskins earlier this month are Trubisky and Rudolph.
The Steelers will take four quarterbacks to training camp an adding one in the draft on a team that doesn't have an established starter is always a good idea.
The round in which that happens, however, is the question.
Many have questioned the talent in this draft at quarterback, but the Steelers have done their homework, meeting with each of the top prospects, visiting with them at their pro days and then bringing them all in for private visits.
They've done their due diligence.
The bottom line when evaluating quarterbacks is that it's often a crapshoot. In 2012, for example, Brandon Weeden was a first-round pick, while Russell Wilson went in the fourth round. In 2013, Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel were first-round picks, while Derek Carr went in the second round.
The Steelers own the 20th pick in the draft. It's unlikely they would trade up to acquire Liberty's Malik Willis or Pitt's Kenny Pickett, the top two quarterbacks in this draft. But it's also somewhat unlikely that one or both fall to their pick in the first round, even though neither is a possibility to be the No. 1-overall pick in this draft.
Willis is a projection as a player with a chance to be a star, while Pickett is considered a relatively safe pick -- but with little potential upside.
"He's the one where, OK, yeah, there's risk involved with any of these quarterbacks, but he provides the upside to warrant taking the risk," NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said of Willis, "If you're going to take a, quote-unquote, flier on a quarterback at the bottom of the first round, I sure as heck would like to have a big payoff at least as a possibility. He's that guy. When you look at the quarterbacks in this draft, he's the one with all that upside."
But quarterbacks always get overdrafted, and despite the panning of this class as a whole, it's not a total wash. It might not have star power at the top, but there is some depth. And some of these quarterbacks will turn into NFL starters.
Figuring out who that will be is the trick.
After a solid draft process, some have suggested that Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder could be selected in the first round, even linking him to the Steelers.
Ridder reportedly interviewed very well at every stage of the process and ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine while displaying a solid arm at his pro day, but his tape shows inconsistencies throwing the football. He misses some easy passes.
He did, however, lead the Bearcats to a 43-6 record in his career while throwing for more than 10,000 yards and rushing for another 2,000.
Ridder spent a lot of time during the pre-draft process breaking down his film from the past two seasons to work out some of the issues with accuracy.
"The main thing is working from my feet," he said. "That's where a quarterback starts, especially with your throwing motion. Make sure everything's staying balanced, staying level, when my weight transfers too far back or too far forward, and over-striding as well. Making sure I keep that stable and balanced.
"We broke down my film from last year and the year before, and you saw a lot of it was not deep left or short left but that intermediate passing to the left, what we call turn at the top. So instead of my feet just swinging to get over there, truly getting my feet in place and my hips in place to get my body turned to the left."
Matt Corral of Mississippi and Sam Howell of North Carolina also could receive some first-round consideration in this draft, but will more likely go in the second round.
Nevada's Carson Strong and Western Kentucky's Bailey Zappe will likely be taken somewhere in the middle rounds, while there are a couple of late-round considerations who are interesting.
Jack Coan of Notre Dame, E.J. Perry of Brown and Skylar Thompson of Kansas State all have some traits that are interesting as developmental quarterbacks.
LOLLEY'S TOP 10 QBs:
1. Malik Willis, Liberty (6-0, 219)
2. Kenny Pickett, Pitt (6-3, 217)
3. Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati (6-3, 211)
4. Sam Howell, North Carolina (6-0, 218)
5. Matt Corral, Mississippi (6-1, 212)
6. Carson Strong, Nevada (6-3, 226)
7. Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky (6-0, 215)
8. Jack Coan, Notre Dame (6-3, 218)
9. E.J. Perry, Brown (6-1, 211)
10. Skylar Thompson, Kansas State (6-2, 217)
ALSO SEE:
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Offensive Tackle
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Cornerback
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Safety
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Wide Receiver
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Defensive Line
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Tight Ends
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Running Backs
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Edge Rushers
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Interior Offensive Line
Steelers NFL Draft Preview: Inside Linebackers
