Since the Steelers’ disappointing, if not typical, exit from the NFL playoffs at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, there has been the usual finger-pointing and calls for accountability that accompany the start of an offseason without a championship. Calls for a change in head coach, quarterback, coordinators, etc. Everybody has their favorite whipping post and their idea of where things went wrong.
But one lone voice in the wilderness said something extremely profound and something I’m not hearing anyone else talk about. And I believe he may have revealed the root of the organization’s current struggles.
On Monday before the Steeler-Bills game, Ryan Clark, speaking on ESPN’s NFL Live, had this to say: “There were two things that happened toward the end of Ben Roethlisberger’s career. They didn’t plan to move on from him correctly, and they were drafting, trying to win in his last years. They were drafting for need instead of drafting the best player. It set this organization back.”
Of all the things I’ve heard from talking heads, this criticism resonated the most with me. It’s easy to forget history and only see the “now.” But Clark hit the nail on the head with his assessment.
The Steelers knew Roethlisberger’s time in the league wouldn’t last forever. Fans and media talked for several years before his retirement about a succession plan. However, the organization chose to ignore the future in favor of drafting and operating in “win-now” mode over Roethlisberger’s final few years. That decision has had lasting ramifications.
Let’s take a look at how they drafted the last few years of No. 7’s tenure:
2019: Roethlisberger is 37 years old. The Steelers have an aging offensive line (a unit they would fail to shore up for a few more years). Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, and David DeCastro are all at least 29 years old. All coming to the end of their primes. O-line would clearly be a need moving forward. Linebacker was also an area of need, and the Steelers had yet to replace Ryan Shazier while Vince Williams was getting long in the tooth.
The Steelers’ draft strategy was to ignore the future and try to fill areas of need. They ended up reaching for Devin Bush at linebacker in Round One. They didn’t have a second-round pick. In the third round, they took a MAC receiver in Diontae Johnson and then CB Justin Layne. No effort to plan for Roethlisberger’s departure. Two misses in their first three picks.
Players available when Steelers made their first pick: G Chris Lindstrom, DT Dexter Lawrence, DT Jeffery Simmons.
2020: Roethlisberger is 38 and coming off a major injury. Villanueva, Pouncey and DeCastro are another year older. Foster retires. They have no first-round pick because they had traded it to Miami for Minkah Fitzpatrick. And they once again fail to address Roethlisberger’s looming departure.
In the second round, they take WR Chase Claypool. In the third round, they take EDGE Alex Highsmith. And in the fourth round, their first pick is RB Anthony McFarland Jr. Once again, two misses in the first three picks.
Players available when Steelers made their first pick: CB Jaylon Johnson, CB Trevon Diggs, QB Jalen Hurts, LB Logan Wilson.
2021: Roethlisberger is 39. Pouncey, Villanueva, and DeCastro are gone. The o-line that the Steelers neglected for years was made up of two rookies, a second-year guy, and a third-year guy. Imagine a franchise surrounding its aging, immobile quarterback with a bunch of turnstiles. That’s what the Steelers did. And knowing that Roethlisberger was in his final year, here is who they drafted:
The first round was Najee Harris. Choosing a running back when your offensive line is on a rebuild is an egregious error. In the second round, they took TE Pat Freiermuth (and proceeded to barely use him over the next three years). And in the third round, they made one of the worst picks in recent memory by taking G Kendrick Green and making him Roethlisberger’s center for his final year. Needless to say, it was disastrous.
Players available when Steelers made their first pick: CB Greg Newsome II, S Jevon Holland, C Landon Dickerson.
Roethlisberger called it quits following the season, and there Pittsburgh was. No franchise quarterback. Nobody waiting in the wings. Nobody tabbed as the “next man up” who could have watched and learned under a future Hall of Famer. Much like the Packers have done twice now with Aaron Rodgers and then Jordan Love.
Art Rooney II, Kevin Colbert, and yes, Mike Tomlin are all complicit in this top-to-bottom organizational failure to anticipate the end of an era coming and develop a plan to navigate it. That is the mark of any great business. To see the road ahead and be better than the next guy in positioning your team for change.
The Steelers failed miserably in transitioning from Roethlisberger to post-Roethlisberger. Their draft strategy was flawed. Their vision was short-sighted. And now we are two years removed from No. 7 and there looks to be no hope on the horizon for an answer at the most important position in all of sports.
The die-hard Steelers fans once had an unwavering trust in the Rooney name and in the Steelers organization. With each passing year of mediocrity, lack of playoff success, and lack of direction regarding the next franchise quarterback, that trust is rapidly eroding.
Hopefully, Omar Khan and Andy Weidl will be allowed to do their job, and they can build off the success of this past year’s draft class, which looks like a home run. But they will have to work some serious magic in addressing the quarterback situation.
Let’s hope their vision and skill at navigating the future of the franchise is better than it has been in recent history. The city and the fans expect better and deserve better.
