Buy Or Sell: The Steelers should go after a starting quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft (not via free agency or a trade).
Explanation: Opinions about the strength of this quarterback draft class are mixed. Those perceptions are going to evolve over the next two months, but there may not be a clear “franchise-caliber” quarterback when the Steelers draft at 20. The strongest possibility seems to be Michael Penix Jr.
Buy:
The response to this prompt rests primarily on your feelings about Kenny Pickett. In my findings, most Steelers fans already write him off as a lost cause. They don’t believe he has any chance of developing in his third season.
So if you’ve already moved on, then you need to move on. And moving on isn’t Justin Fields. He has done little to suggest he can win you a Super Bowl. If you’re going to look for a new franchise guy, do it in the draft.
While the Steelers will likely be out of reach of the top quarterbacks in this class, this is a stronger group than in 2022. They made a mistake in drafting Pickett. A year earlier, even with Ben Roethlisberger almost surely retiring, they wouldn’t have done that. They allowed desperation and availability to drive that evaluation.
Sell:
While the 2024 draft of quarterbacks is stronger than in 2022, let’s remember that 2022 was historically bad. I don’t think 2024 is all that great, either. I have enough reservations right now about guys like Michael Penix Jr. that I wouldn’t take him in the first.
The Steelers will likely add a quarterback at some point in the draft, in the middle round, but they won’t anoint him the future starter. And they shouldn’t. Frankly, if any quarterback they can reach develops into a quality starter, they will be lucky.
I don’t subscribe to the notion of sticking with what you’ve got for the sake of it. But I also don’t believe in making changes for the sake of making change. Don’t add a quarterback unless simply for depth unless you believe he can be your guy. That guy at quarterback isn’t in this draft class for the Steelers.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL Draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
