The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation has hung over the franchise like a black cloud since Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2021. They missed in the draft once when they took Kenny Pickett, and other veteran options have been band aids.
However, in ESPN’s latest mock draft, Field Yates as the Steelers landing Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson as their next project.
“One of the most pressing questions of this draft is how high Simpson will go. He was entrenched in the top-10 conversation midseason before a significant second-half slide. The pros for Simpson? He can throw with pristine accuracy, improvises in the pocket and has enough arm strength to drive the ball downfield,” Yates wrote on Simpson. “The cons? His decision-making waned down the stretch, as he had four interceptions and a combined 62.6% completion percentage in Alabama’s final six games.”
Simpson, a first-year starter, has come out of nowhere to become one of the top quarterbacks in the entire class. This past season, he had 28 touchdowns to five interceptions while throwing for 3557 yards with a 64 percent completion percentage.
The Crimson Tide struggled to fully get going this season despite sneaking into the College Football Playoff, and Simpson’s struggles correlated with some of their losses.
The Steelers sent their scouts to watch Simpson multiple times this past season, and they are highly familiar with the gunslinger.