Few believe that the Pittsburgh Steelers have their quarterback of the future right now; many try to connect them with this or that veteran, but using the draft as the means of searching for that elusive next quarterback has received less attention.
That’s what former NFL RB and current NFL analyst Maurice Jones-Drew believes the Steelers should do. He broached the subject while discussing Kenny Pickett as their quarterback on NFL Total Access recently. Though he touched on the possibility of trading for a veteran, he added his own thoughts.
“I like to go rookie. I like to have a blank canvas”, he said when asked which direction he would take to find the Steelers’ next quarterback “At least see the same way I see”. He added, “I want to have a guy with a higher ceiling that I can help grow and we can have him for years to come”.
Opinions are mixed about this upcoming draft class—but then again, when are they not? Former Steelers offensive coordinator and NFL Coach of the Year Bruce Arians vouched for this year’s class of quarterbacks. He said he believes it is the strongest group in 10-15 years.
The problem is the Steelers select 20th overall in the first round. How many quarterbacks are you willing to watch go off the board? Names like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels are unlikely to make it out of the top 10.
Other likely first-round quarterbacks include Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr., and J.J. McCarthy. One or more of them could slip to 20. If they like one of them enough, they could also trade up to get him. Quarterback is a position where you’re willing to take risks to get your guy. But we have no idea if any of these are the Steelers’ guy.
For what it’s worth, Arians really liked Pickett and the Steelers drafting him. “He was the one pro-style quarterback this year who could play right away”, he told 93.7 The Fan in May 2022. Of course, everybody has draft “misses”, including the Steelers. Sometimes the evaluations are right but the situations are not.
I don’t think it’s likely based on a summary of the various reports that the Steelers are interested in drafting a first-round quarterback. They could do it. Ideally we shouldn’t really have a good sense of where they’re leaning. Maybe they do like this class relative to Pickett more than reports suggest.
Few share the evident internal opinion about Pickett, though. That’s why every outsider in the business wants to push them to make some kind of bold gesture at quarterback. Whether it’s Peter King or Jones-Drew, there is a broad consensus that their internal options are not solutions.
“I get it, you tried it with Kenny Pickett. This doesn’t seem like it’s working right now”, Jones-Drew said. “To me, I think for the Steelers it’s time to say, ‘Look, it didn’t pan out here with Kenny Pickett. We’ve had Mason Rudolph for so many years, we’ve seen him over and over again. It’s time to go out and either trade for a guy…or to go in the draft'”.
I do not recommend rushing out and getting a custom-made Penix jersey, for what it’s worth.
