Would the Pittsburgh Steelers really consider drafting another quarterback just one year after drafting Landry Jones in the fourth-round of the 2013 NFL Draft? According to Chris Bradford of the Beaver County Times, not only is it a possibility, the Steelers also reportedly have one specific quarterback in mind.
Per Bradford’s report, one source has informed his paper that the Steelers have eyes for LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who tore his ACL last December. Mettenberger has apparently made good progress with his rehab and is expected to throw at his April 9 Pro Day at which the Steelers are expected to have people in attendance watching.
Many believe that Mettenberger would be a first or second round prospect had he not suffered the knee injury in addition to having maturity issues. He does have a big arm and threw for 3,082 yards with 22 touchdowns last season before getting injured. Much like Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, he’s a big boy, as he measured in at 6-foot-5, 224 pounds at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine several weeks ago.
CBS Sports currently has Mettenberger as their seventh overall quarterback in this year’s draft class and they project him as a third or fourth-round draft pick.
I really don’t know how much of Bradford’s report is true, but should the Steelers somehow ultimately wind up drafting Mettenberger in the third or fourth round in May, that will mean they wasted last year’s fourth-round pick on Landry. Not that most of us don’t already think that.
It will really be hard to read too much into the Steelers being in attendance at the LSU Pro Day next month, because they likely will be there watching wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.
I’m pretty sure that once Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk gets wind of this story that he will twist it into the Steelers not being happy with Roethlisberger or that they’re trying to use the draft as leverage against him in contract negotiations. You watch.
