Well, the Steelers may have just found their quarterback of the future.
One round after selecting Oklahoma State’s James Washington, the Steelers traded up three spots to grab Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph, who unexpected fell as far as he did.
A big, strong quarterback with a long list of production while at Oklahoma State, Rudolph is a quarterback that checks off all of the Bill Parcells QB boxes. I like the player a lot — probably more than most on #DraftTwitter, but I don’t like the Steelers picking him.
While I totally understood the interest that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert showed in him, I never really thought they’d pick him, based on team needs. Yet here we are.
That being said, this is a luxury pick for Pittsburgh. Rudolph wasn’t supposed to fall as far as he did, and the Steelers gave up absolutely nothing to move up three spots to get a guy they really like.
It is certainly confusing that they haven’t really addressed the defense so far, and I’ll certainly understand the hate for this pick, and the frustration of the draft haul so far, but the Steelers identified a quarterback, stayed patient, and jumped at him when it made sense.
I think this is a steal when it comes to value. Personally, I had Rudolph as QB5 with a second-round grade. To see him fall to the middle of the third was confusing, but the Steelers get real value here at arguably the most important position moving forward once Ben Roethlisberger decides to hang up the cleats.
Like I said earlier, I personally wouldn’t have picked him if I were in Colbert’s shoes.
Now we wait and see what the Steelers do in the quarterback room, since they almost certainly can’t carry four quarterbacks on the roster. Odds are they move on from Landry Jones.
Rudolph’s pro transition requires patience, but he has the physical traits and intelligence that makes him a worthy developmental option.
