The Pittsburgh Steelers are in danger of getting left behind at quarterback. There’s a growing chance they exit free agency without a viable starter at the position. Whether that ends up happening or not, The 33rd Team’s Steve Palazzolo believes the Steelers must take a quarterback in this year’s draft.
And early.
“Jaxson Dart at No. 21,” Palazzolo proposed Wednesday on his Check The Mic Podcast with Sam Monson. “They need to draft a quarterback no matter what.”
Drafting a quarterback is something Pittsburgh certainly could do. However, the first round may be too early. Dart has been mocked to the Steelers, but QB is far from their only need. The Steelers need much more depth on their defensive line. They’re also likely to add a running back in the draft. Considering those needs, plus the fact that they’ve already sent their second-round pick to the Seahawks for DK Metcalf, it seems less likely that Pittsburgh would take a player like Dart in the first round.
That said, they might run out of other options. Aaron Rodgers has yet to make a decision, but there have been rumors regarding him and the Minnesota Vikings as well as the New York Giants. Russell Wilson, who seems to be Plan B in Pittsburgh, already has his own visits lined up. If neither of those two end up in Pittsburgh, the Steelers might find themselves with no other choice but to select a QB with a high draft pick.
That’s something that feels unappealing to a lot of Steelers fans. The Steelers took Kenny Pickett in nearly the exact same spot in the first round in 2022, and he didn’t pan out. Palazzolo understands that may cause Steelers fans to be cautious about Dart in the first round after what happened with Pickett.
“I think fans tend to look at quarterbacks who didn’t work out and are just like ‘Haha, you idiots, you missed on that guy’, and it’s like, show me the alternative,” Palazzolo said. “Show me the better plan. If you’re gonna laugh about missing on Kenny Pickett, are you also gonna laugh about bringing in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields?”
To be fair, the Steelers did have better stretches with Wilson, and maybe even Fields, than they did with Pickett. Palazzolo does make a good argument, though. After missing on Pickett, the Steelers looked outside of the draft for his replacement. Clearly, the end result was no better.
If neither Rodgers nor Wilson end up in Black and gold, Pittsburgh could look to Kirk Cousins. Aside from that, though, the Steelers may find themselves forced to use a high draft pick on a quarterback.
