The final day of the 2022 NFL Draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers can be viewed with some skepticism overall, which is certainly fair as the Steelers added an H-back in Connor Heyward, a raw inside linebacker in Mark Robinson, and a second quarterback in the same draft class in Chris Oladokun.
For some media members and parts of the fanbase, the Day 3 selections seemingly took the shine off of a rather strong Steelers’ draft class overall in the final draft of GM Kevin Colbert’s 22-year tenure in Pittsburgh.
After calling second-round wide receiver George Pickens the Steelers’ best draft pick, CBS Sports reversed course Thursday afternoon and called the selection of Oladokun the Steelers’ “most questionable” pick of the draft.
Anytime your final pick of the draft — this one at No. 241 overall — is called the “most questionable” pick of your draft class overall, you might have had a strong draft class overall.
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards believes the Steelers made a mistake drafting Oladokun late on the final day of the draft, grabbing a second quarterback in the same draft class after drafting Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall in the first round.
“The team’s first four picks all have question marks, but it is difficult to argue with the value Pittsburgh got in each spot. The plan with Oladokun will be interesting,” Edwards writes. “He is an older prospect who is unfinished as a quarterback. Will they use him in a gadget role? The Steelers already have Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph and Pickett on the roster.”
Edwards is really overthinking the selection of Oladokun, looking at it from 30,000 feet and seeing a second quarterback in the same draft class who is on the older end of things, rather than diving deeper to try and understand the selection.
The Steelers showed a ton of interest in Oladokun late in the pre-draft process, bringing him in to Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit, and also had Rick Reprish, the Senior Assistant for College Scouting, at the South Dakota State Pro Day in April, getting a first-hand look at the well-traveled quarterback.
What’s also overlooked with the selection of Oladokun is that the Steelers like to carry four quarterbacks through the offseason and into training camp. The tragic loss of Dwayne Haskins in early April saw the Steelers sadly lose a quarterback off the roster, forcing their hand to add a fourth quarterback after the selection of Pickett in the first round.
The Steelers also don’t like to hand out a bunch of guaranteed money in undrafted free agency, and based on the pre-draft visits that Oladokun took late in the process, there’s a good chance he would have signed elsewhere for more guaranteed money, causing the Steelers to miss out on him. Drafting him with their final pick in the draft ensured that they wouldn’t miss out on Oladokun, who profiles as a practice squad guy in 2022, though he could elevate to QB3 on the 53-man roster should the Steelers trade away Mason Rudolph late in training camp for a 2023 draft pick.
