The Pittsburgh Steelers have received a lot of praise for selecting Derrick Harmon in the first round on Thursday. Mike Tomlin got an exciting prospect for the defensive line, an area which was arguably the biggest need on the roster.
Yet not everyone is happy with the Steelers’ selection. Pittsburgh has just two quarterbacks on its roster in Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. The Steelers reportedly asked Aaron Rodgers for an answer before the draft, which clearly never came. Despite that, they didn’t feel the need to take a QB in the first round, which saw two players at the position go in Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart.
Former NFL receiver Michael Irvin appeared on FS1’s The Herd on Friday, and he was critical of the Steelers passing on a QB at No. 21.
“They’ve been looking and never have given Mike Tomlin his quarterback,” Irvin said. “Here, I thought, was a perfect situation and a perfect opportunity to get that taken care of, and you went and drafted another lineman. That was surprising. I can’t in my own mind rationalize, after the organization has cheated Mike Tomlin out of a quarterback.”
Irvin isn’t the only one unhappy with the choice. Former Steeler Ryan Clark expressed disappointment Thursday night and reiterated that sentiment Friday morning. It’s clear many are frustrated with the lack of action at quarterback. If anything, the Steelers’ move showed their confidence that Rodgers will walk through the door at some point.
Irvin’s specific argument is that Tomlin was cheated out of a quarterback. How true is that?
We all know Tomlin has an influential voice in these discussions, maybe even the most influential. But that doesn’t mean he’s the only voice. Omar Khan and the rest of the front office are all going to have a say in these choices. For what it’s worth, Tomlin seemed extremely pleased during his press conference with Khan shortly after the Harmon selection. He spoke about feeling “extreme urgency” to upgrade the position. After watching the Steelers struggles to stop much of anything in their playoff loss in 2024, it’s not hard to see why he felt that way.
The Steelers still can address the QB position at some point over the next two days as well. They don’t have a second-round pick at the moment, which makes things harder. Still, QBs like Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe, Tyler Shough, Kyle McCord and Will Howard are all available heading into Day 2.
There are still many picks ahead and months of offseason left. It’s perfectly fine to be upset the Steelers didn’t take their QB in the first round. But it’s also too soon to say Mike Tomlin’s being “cheated” out of one.
