If you’re anything like me, then the 2022 NFL Draft cannot get here soon enough, and that anticipation is more about simply getting past the endless barrage of mock drafts than it is actually finding out who the newest members of the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be.
This year has been especially trying because the theme for the Steelers has become so incredibly redundant. The plurality of mock drafts have mutually decided that the team is most likely going to draft a quarterback. The only available variables have been which specific quarterback that would be and whether or not they would actually trade up to get him.
For the second mock draft in a row, Brad Spielberger has the Steelers going all in on Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, only this time, he doesn’t believe they are going to have to trade up to get him. In his mock draft from a week and a half ago, they move up to 10 to get him. This time, they sit at 20 and he falls to them. He writes:
Ridder has become the darling of many NFL Draft analysts over the last few months with quarterback mania in full swing, receiving high praise for his processing ability, including this piece from PFF’s Seth Galina breaking down why Ridder is the most technical quarterback in this year’s class.
Caesar’s Sportsbook currently has Ridder’s over/under listed at 30.5, and I like the under here.
He added that he believes that even if the Steelers don’t end up drafting Ridder at 20, he believes that the quarterback will still be drafted by pick 30, citing the Tennessee Titans at 26 as one option, and noting that the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers hold draft picks at 28 and 30 that could be coveted by quarterback-needy teams for a trade scenario.
I have stated my opinion on Ridder before, so I’m not going to do so again, but suffice it to say, I would much prefer that if they draft him at all, that they do so without spending excess resources in order to do so.
With the draft only a week away, there is still a wide variety of opinion both on what this quarterback draft class is like and how the first round will ultimately unfold regarding the quarterbacks. Some think only one or two quarterback will even be taken in the first round, if any. Others think four will be drafted by pick 20.
As for Spielberger, whose third mock draft he says is driven by what he has heard around the league, he has four quarterbacks going in the first round, with Kenny Pickett the only one in the top 10, taken by the Carolina Panthers at six.
He also has the New Orleans Saints drafting Malik Willis at 19, one selection ahead of the Steelers with Ridder, and the Atlanta Falcons trading into the end of the first round at pick 32 to add Matt Corral out of Ole Miss. Sam Howell and Carson Strong will have to wait until Day 2.
