Is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pre-draft visit with QB Michael Penix Jr. a smokescreen or legitimate interest?
According to reports yesterday, the Steelers have a pre-draft visit scheduled with QB Michael Penix Jr. A potential first-round candidate, they almost surely need to draft him with their top pick if they want him. But most assumed that the Steelers already settled their quarterback position for now, so this is a mild surprise.
The team already signed Russell Wilson and traded for Justin Fields, even added Kyle Allen to round things out. They like Fields’ potential as a player they can develop over time, while they believe they can win now with Wilson.
But if you don’t know you have a franchise quarterback, then you’d better keep looking for one. For all the Steelers know, both Wilson and Fields are out the door in 2025. Neither of them are under contract beyond this season, nor is Allen for that matter. They could completely sweep out the quarterback room two years in a row.
On the one hand, you can argue the Steelers aren’t doing their job if they don’t do their due diligence. They need to evaluate every potential quarterback option they come across until they land on an unquestionable long-term answer.
When the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger, they already liked their quarterback room. While it wasn’t quite Wilson and Fields in terms of accomplishment and pedigree, they had Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch, even Brian St. Pierre for good measure.
But they drafted Roethlisberger anyway, because they saw the future in him, and history proved them right. That doesn’t mean Penix is the next Roethlisberger, but you need to look at your options before you know.
The real question we’re asking here is, though, is this pre-draft visit with Penix legitimate interest? By that I mean, do they intend to draft him if he is available to them in the first round? Or at the very least, are they strongly considering doing so? Where does he fall on Andy Weidl’s draft board? Is he in the top 20 names? Is any quarterback in the top 20 names?
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
