Pro Football Focus’s Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson spent Wednesday’s episode of the PFF NFL Show breaking down how they would fix various franchises around the league. They had a lengthy segment on the Pittsburgh Steelers. And yes, you guessed it, they spent most of the time talking about their quarterback situation.
They listed several different options before Palazzolo concluded that the best option was just punting to the 2024 NFL Draft and selecting whoever happens to fall to the Steelers at 20th overall.
“I landed on the unknown box of Michael Penix [Jr.] and Bo Nix,” Palazzolo said. “Draft somebody the same way I said, ‘Sure, draft Kenny Pickett’ two years ago. But if two years from now he’s not the guy, move on and draft the next guy. So we’re here. Maybe Kenny Pickett’s not the guy. Draft the next one.”
Of all the options at quarterback this seems among the most unlikely. The Steelers have expressed the desire to challenge Pickett with competition, but head coach Mike Tomlin replied in the affirmative when asked if the starting QB for 2024 is already on the roster in his end-of-season media session.
If they have any shred of hope that Pickett can still turn his career around, which all signs seem to indicate they do, then drafting a first-round quarterback would not be the route to take. It would certainly provide competition for Pickett, but it would also create a very difficult atmosphere even if Pickett was showing signs of progression.
“I don’t think that you can love anything that we’ve seen from Kenny Pickett [or] Mason Rudolph,” Monson added. “I feel like anything else is probably the way to go.”
If they happen to address quarterback in free agency or via trade, like for the Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields, they both agreed that solidifying the offensive line is the most pressing need.
“There’s a world where this whole thing works,” Palazzolo said. “It’s just making sure that the offensive line is tidied up a little bit. I think left tackle needs to be in play in the first round. I don’t know if those guys come off the board a little bit too high, but there should be an option at tackle.”
With second-year OT Broderick Jones now having plenty of experience at right tackle, there is no pressing need to flip him back over to the left. If tackle is the pick at 20 and one of the top left tackles is available like Jordan Morgan or Olumuyiwa Fashanu then the Steelers should think long and hard about keeping Jones on the right side. On the flip side, there are plenty of right tackle prospects who should end up in the first round as well. The Steelers will have options if that is the route they want to take.
Monson also offered one potential solution if they trade for Fields, using a second-round pick as his projection: “They’re a massive trade-down candidate as well.”
The logic would be trying to recoup the lost draft capital from a potential Fields trade by moving out of the first round to get some Day 2 draft capital in return. These trade scenarios are always easier said than done as it takes two to tango. This scenario could work in the Steelers’ favor as they would be very likely to still have a starting-caliber tackle available with it being one of the deepest positions in the draft. They would also have extra ammunition to address their need at cornerback.
In the end, Monson and Palazzolo agreed that they wouldn’t want to be the ones having to make these decisions in Pittsburgh. Without the quarterback position set, the rest of the roster construction becomes way trickier.
There is a reason why every quarterback who even has a possibility of becoming available is being connected with the Steelers in free agency. At the same time, team president Art Rooney II made it seem like the Steelers would not be pursuing a starting QB in free agency or via trade, so all the speculation could very well be for naught.
