One of the biggest questions of the offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers centers on the future at the quarterback position, and what the competition will look like behind third-year quarterback Kenny Pickett.
While it is expected that the Steelers will sign a veteran in free agency, whether that’s Mason Rudolph or names like Ryan Tannehill, Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew II, the Steelers will also have a need at the position entering the 2024 NFL Draft, too.
It’s extremely unlikely that the Steelers make a move to draft a quarterback high in the draft, but for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the likeliest range for the Steelers to select a quarterback is late in April’s draft.
In a chat with readers Thursday, Dulac kept it short and sweet in a response to a reader asking how high the Steelers will draft a quarterback, Dulac stating, “Sixth. Maybe seventh [round].”
Currently, the Steelers hold the No. 196 overall pick in the sixth round and the No. 237 pick in the seventh round.
According to Pro Football Focus’ Big Board regarding the 2024 NFL Draft by position,five quarterbacks fall in that range of sixth or seventh round who could be fits for the Steelers.
Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, South Alabama’s Carter Bradley, BYU’s Kedon Slovis, and Kentucky’s Devin Leary fall into that range.
None of those names moves the needle, so to speak.
Fourteen quarterbacks were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, with all but Bradley — the son of longtime NFL defensive coordinator Gus Bradley — not receiving an invite.
The Steelers will have a need at QB3 from a development standpoint, and even QB4. The Steelers like to carry four quarterbacks in training camp, and with new QB coach Tom Arth in the fold, the Steelers will likely want to give him a developmental piece to work with late in the draft.
None of those names screams competition for Pickett though, or even a backup like Rudolph, Tannehill, Brissett or Minshew. They are NFL QBs, no doubt, but they are more longtime backups. Some, like Tagovailoa or Hartman, have starter upside, but they are near the bottom of the QB rankings in the draft class for a reason.
Tagovailoa and Leary had nice weeks at the East-West Shrine Bowl, while Bradley and Hartman were at the Senior Bowl and received mixed reviews. Slovis was at the Shrine Bowl, too, but struggled throughout the week. The Steelers should be relatively familiar with him due to his one season at Pittsburgh.
Waiting until the sixth or seventh round to grab a quarterback seems like a waste of time for where the Steelers are currently, but that’s what Dulac believes the franchise will do. It doesn’t help that they don’t have a fifth-round pick, but with two fourths, maybe they could justify spending one of those one a developmental quarterback, like Tennessee’s Joe Milton III, Florida State’s Jordan Travis or even South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, should he fall.
Options are there, but it seems like the Steelers, at least based on Dulac’s point of view, will take a late-round flier on a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft.
