Kevin Colbert Left One Concern in Steelers' Draft Plans
PITTSBURGH -- On March 30, general manager Kevin Colbert spoke to the fans and Steelers local media about the offseason and upcoming plans.
For the most part, everything remains calm. The Steelers will stay out of free agency but continue to monitor who's available. For the NFL Draft, preparation has changed but, "so far, so good," as Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin begin evaluations.
"We’re all in the same boat,” Colbert said. "We don’t have pro days and most likely we will not with the restrictions, so we’re prepared for that. We’ve done our evaluations through the fall. Between the scouts and myself we’ve probably had three or four looks at all the top prospects. Once the season was over, we get the coaches involved, and they’ve been involved.
“We’re missing the pro days and we’re missing the personal interviews and visits we’d be doing, but we’ve been in meetings for a week and a half and the meetings have been going great."
But within a day full of positive assertions, one looming concern stood out; no one has seen Ben Roethlisberger throw in person.
Okay, now that's not entirely true. Roethlisberger's doctors and trainers have worked with the quarterback since he's been cleared, but for the most part, the confidence in his return comes directly from Ben himself.
"This would be the time of year the players would be allowed to circle back in and begin their offseason programs. All of that is on hold," Colbert said. "At this moment we just have to rely on what our doctors, trainers and Ben himself are giving us and that is encouraging."
While Roethlisberger remains the starter when preparing for the season, there's uncertainty in how confident Colbert and Tomlin can be about the situation.
Last season proved why depth at quarterback is overly important. 2019 was as injury-prone as they come, bringing out every weakness in the Steelers' roster. Of them, the struggles of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges were most deadly.
So, the question is how important is drafting a quarterback? There needs to be competition with Rudolph - just in case - because if Ben goes down again, there's too much talent in other areas for quarterback play to hold the team back.
Rudolph can still be declared the backup and faith in Roethlisberger can remain strong. Adding a third option has to be high on the draft board, though. Without seeing the progression in-person, though, there has to be a contingency plan.
If the Steelers already had a quarterback in the first two-to-three picks of their draft plans, not being able to work with Roethlisberger could force their hand.
And so, the mystery of Big Ben continues, and will continue through the draft.
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