The Steelers appear to like QB Tyler Shough, but the viability of drafting him depends on where he lands. Previously viewed as likely a late Day-2 pick, his stock has climbed as the draft approaches. With Aaron Rodgers basically saying he’s not thinking about football right now, the Steelers have to be weighing their draft options pretty intently.
And Shough is the quarterback Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes the Steelers should draft. Provided, that is, if they can get him in the third round and not the first. “If you’re gonna take one in this draft, you might as well take one who has the biggest upside”, he said on the North Shore Drive podcast. “Other than Cam Ward, I think Tyler Shough is that guy”.
Now, I don’t know that I actually agree with that assessment, though this quarterback class isn’t exactly robust. And quite frankly, I’m not sure if he meant to convey upside or floor. Shough has a high floor due to his experience, but how much better can he be than he is now? Perhaps Fittipaldo believes there is still considerable untapped potential in Shough, whom he called “a boom or bust pick”.
Importantly, though, he believes Tyler Shough fits what the Steelers want to do on offense. “Please don’t tell me if you ran a 4.61 40 that a guy like Arthur Smith isn’t gonna dial some things up for you and take advantage of that in the running game”, he said. “I’m thinking like, Ryan Tannehill type of stuff here. Good passer, can make some plays, can get a first down for you”.
Shough is 25, which is obviously old for a rookie, even for the Steelers. They have drafted older players more often in recent years, partly due to COVID-19 fallout. In the past, they preferred to draft very young players in the first round, but that’s no longer consistently true. And when it comes to quarterback, the right guy is the right guy regardless of age.
And Shough does have a little more mobility than most quarterbacks in this class, albeit with a caveat about health. “Even though the injury history is there—you wouldn’t want to expose him too much—he has that in him”, Fittipaldo said of the Steelers using his legs. “But above and beyond that, he’s probably got the most arm talent in this draft, maybe Cam Ward slightly ahead of him. But this guy can make all the throws”.
For a while now, Fittipaldo has maintained a preference to draft a quarterback, but not in the first round. If Tyler Shough is available in the third round, the Steelers almost undoubtedly would pull the trigger. At least, depending on what they were able to do in the first round.
Alex Kozora did rank Shough behind Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and Will Howard. He compared him to Matt Cassel, which should have Steelers fans dancing in the streets, I’m sure. Whatever the Steelers do, we won’t have to wait much longer, fortunately.
