Will it be Aaron Rodgers? What about Russell Wilson? Could a guy like Joe Flacco interest you, Pittsburgh?
That’s where the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at the quarterback position. That is to say, not in a great spot.
It could be none of the three, too, which would have the Steelers then turn their attention to the 2025 NFL Draft, and in particular the first round.
In his latest mock draft for NFL.com, Daniel Jeremiah has the Steelers addressing their glaring need at quarterback in the first round at No. 21 overall, landing Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart.
“The Steelers’ plan at quarterback is not completely clear at the moment. Even if they were to land 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, they would still need a long-term option at the position, so they take another swing here with Dart,” Jeremiah writes.
Along with the Steelers, the Tennessee Titans took a QB in Miami (FL)’s Cam Ward at No. 1 overall while the New York Giants landed Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders at No. 3.
In Jeremiah’s mock draft, names like WR Tetairoa McMillan, DL Derrick Harmon, and DL Kenneth Grant were all still on the board, making it a tough pill to swallow knowing the Steelers reached on a QB for the second time in four drafts.
But QB is the most important position in sports and the Steelers don’t have a clear answer there. As Jeremiah wrote, even if the Steelers sign Rodgers, it wouldn’t be a long-term answer. Neither is Mason Rudolph, so taking a swing on a QB makes some sense on the surface. It would just depend on how the board breaks on Day 1 of the draft.
If it were to break the way it did in Jeremiah’s exercise and the Steelers passed on talents like McMillan and Harmon, that would be difficult to come to grips with.
As for Dart, he’s clearly the No. 3 QB in the draft class, of which many say isn’t all that good at the position.
At the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Dart measured in at 6022, 223 pounds with 9 1/2-inch hands.
In three seasons with the Rebels, Dart threw for 10,617 yards and 72 touchdowns with just 22 interceptions. He completed 65.7 percent of his passes under head coach Lane Kiffin and added another 1,498 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
He earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2024 and was named the Gator Bowl MVP after his final game with Ole Miss.
Dart has some good moments on tape and some jaw-dropping throws, but as Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora wrote in his scouting report, he does a lot of things well but doesn’t have any elite traits. That’s not exactly a quarterback you want to take a chance on in the first round, especially in a poor QB class.
That’s how you wind up with a Kenny Pickett-type QB again, which clearly wasn’t what the Steelers wanted.
But desperation can lead to some surprising decisions. The Steelers are very clearly trying to find an answer at the quarterback spot, and if they like Dart, he could be their selection. They met with him at the Senior Bowl and the Combine, and they will have personnel there for his Pro Day, though that could be for Ole Miss DL Walter Nolen too.
They could do much worse at QB than Dart in the 2025 NFL Draft, but No. 21 overall feels just a bit too rich for the type of talent you’d be getting. We’ll see how it plays out.
