NFL Draft: Terry Bradshaw to Ben Roethlisberger to … ?
Ozzie Newsome made a big splash in his final draft as general manager of the Ravens. Newsome moved back into the first round to select quarterback Lamar Jackson, leaving the franchise in a position to win for years to come.
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert finds himself in the same scenario with plans to retire after the team drafts in late April. Colbert dismissed the notion at the NFL Scouting Combine that Pittsburgh will purposely make such a move due to the current situation at quarterback.
“We will never narrow it down to one position, never have, never will,” said Colbert regarding if Pittsburgh will invest in the best available and not on a perceived quarterback savior for the franchise. “Quarterback is obviously a huge position in any given season, especially this year with our Hall-of-Fame quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger) calling it a career. So, is it different this year? Yes. But is it going to change how we approach things? No.”
Pittsburgh announced Monday at the onset of the negotiating period in free agency they came to an agreement with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mitchell Trubisky. According to Tom Peliserro of NFL Media, it’s a two-year, $14.25 million deal that’s worth up to $27 million with incentives.
That isn’t the barn-burning deal many Pittsburgh fans wanted to see when witnessing the high-profile carousel of quarterbacks on the move. Many view this as a bridge to the next quarterback Pittsburgh invests in as the franchise signal-caller.
Mason Rudolph has shown little evidence he can lead the Steelers after being selected with the 76th overall selection in the 2018 draft. Rudolph spent time behind Roethlisberger and his retirement has left the door open for Rudolph to seize the moment.
However, the signing of Trubisky signals that Pittsburgh won’t be handing the job to Rudolph. Trubisky, a former 2018 Pro Bowl selection, does not ease the minds of most who support the Steelers. Rudolph will now have serious competition when camp opens later this summer, possibly also from Dwayne Haskins.
“You know, Mason is 5-4-1 as an NFL starter, albeit in a backup kind of role, but we're excited to see what is next for Mason,” said Colbert. “And if we add to that position, we're going to look at every possible avenue, as we really do for every other position, but again, a quarterback is unique.”
Wise with his words, Colbert divulges nothing when referring in what direction the Steelers will take in looking for the predecessor for Roethlisberger.
Drafted in 2004, Roethlisberger led the Steelers in passing every season except 2019 when he injured his elbow in Week 2 and missed 14 games. The magic of finding a franchise quarterback resonates for years and without one, the search is endless with countless losses of draft capital.
The franchises only two winning Super Bowl quarterbacks, Terry Bradshaw and Roethlisberger, led the team in passing in 29 of the 32 combined years they played for the franchise. That is an amazing 90%. The gap between Bradshaw and Roethlisberger saw seven different quarterbacks lead the team in passing in the 21 seasons before Roethlisberger would solidify the position as the 11th overall pick in the draft.
It took over two decades for Pittsburgh to find the prospect via the draft that would erase mediocre play and raise the bar of quarterback play to a Hall-of-Fame level during Roethlisberger’s reign.
“I think it’s a quality class,” said Colbert of the 2022 available quarterbacks in the draft. “It might not be the number of players at that position that there have been in the past, but it’s certainly good quality and there’s going to be starting NFL quarterbacks coming out of this class for sure.”
Will Pittsburgh’s next starter come from this group?
“Inaccuracy,” was the word used by Colbert in describing the biggest deterrent when evaluating rookie prospects. “I think if you study quarterbacks over history, accuracy at the collegiate level is usually a great indicator of accuracy at the professional level albeit in a different game.
“A lot of the college game is leaking into our game, so there’s more similarities than there have been in recent years. But I think that’s the one trait of a quarterback—again they’re all going to be different sizes, they’re all going to have different arm talent, they’re all going to have different athletic abilities. But if you ask me one thing that I think can identify a potentially tough quarterback it would be accuracy.”
Colbert took over as director of player personnel in 2000 and has been at the helm for the selection of seven quarterbacks. Four years into the process, he landed Roethlisberger making the next 19 seasons pretty much an afterthought at the position.
Now he is under the gun to deliver the franchise another quarterback before he exits his NFL executive career.
Pittsburgh sits at 20th overall in the upcoming draft.
Although the consensus is that the quarterbacks lack true grades that exceed the top-15 prospects, it is likely due to the nature of the beast. History says teams will bypass grades and pull the trigger earlier for the league’s most valued position.
The intriguing part about this quarterback class is the wide variety of views of who are the top prospects. Some believe Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett is the most pro-ready quarterback. Others view Malik Willis from Liberty as the guy with the most upside to become an elite player.
Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder is the ultimate leader, but lacks the physical attributes many teams desire in a first-round prospect. Matt Corral (Ole Miss) is the dynamic dual-threat coming off an ankle injury suffered in the Sugar Bowl who some consider the top prospect. Sam Howell from North Carolina is a scrappy prospect that just finds a way to get the job done.
The brief observation of the top rookie quarterbacks leads me to believe Pittsburgh will either take the first quarterback off the board in the first round or elect to take another flyer on a quarterback at the end of Day 2 in the third round.
Seven quarterbacks have been drafted while Colbert has been at the helm. The fourth and fifth rounds have been the hotspots where the Steelers often roll the dice on quarterbacks. Five of the seven quarterbacks drafted with Colbert as boss have come in those rounds.
Colbert held true to the Steelers identity of having no mind-blowing transactions taking place after one of the wildest weeks of quarterback maneuvers we’ve witnessed in the NFL, and we are still waiting to see what happens with Jimmy Garopplo and Baker Mayfield.
Remember, it took over two decades to bridge the gap between Bradshaw to Roethlisberger.
Only time will tell how quickly the construction of the next bridge will take.
