The Pittsburgh Steelers are now into the offseason, following a year in which they had high hopes for Super Bowl success, but ultimately fell short of even reaching the postseason at 8-8. It was a tumultuous season, both on the field and within the roster, and the months to follow figure to have some drama as well, especially in light of the team’s failure to improve upon the year before.
The team made some bold moves over the course of the past year, and some areas of the roster look quite a bit different than they did a year ago, or even at the start of the regular season. Whether due to injuries or otherwise, a lot has transpired, and we’re left to wonder how much more will change prior to September.
How will Ben Roethlisberger’s rehab progress as he winds toward recovery from an elbow injury that cost him almost the entire season? What about some of the key young players, some of whom have already impressed, others still needing quite a bit of growth? Will there be changes to the coaching staff? The front office? Who will they not retain in free agency, and whom might they bring in?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: Will any quarterback from the 2020 class other than Joe Burrow or Tua Tagovailoa become a productive, long-term starter?
In light of the fact that the Steelers continue to get hammered from some quarters of the media over their decision not to address the quarterback position, not just in the draft but in free agency as well, it got me to pondering the only pertinent question, in my mind: outside of the two quarterbacks who went in the top five (Burrow and Tua), will any of them actually end up being, you know, good?
The Los Angeles Chargers ended up falling in love with Justin Herbert and drafted him one spot after Tua at six, which, frankly, I forgot even happened. The Green Gay Packers made the ballsiest move of the draft when they traded up to take Jordan Love. Jalen Hurts was the most notable quarterback on the board when the Steelers picked at 49.
No other quarterback was even taken until the middle of the fourth round, nearly two full rounds of draft picks. Jacob Eason and James Morgan were both taken in that round, followed, finally, by Jacob Fromm in the fifth. Only five more were drafted, four in the seventh round.
Do you see any of these guys becoming a starter? How about a very good backup? Would any of them have been better than Mason Rudolph this year? Or ever?
