The Steelers hoped to land their future franchise quarterback in this draft. According to Gerry Dulac, they know there’s no chance. Writing in a recent chat, he insisted Pittsburgh would not reach for a quarterback like they did in 2022. Not because they learned a valuable lesson, but, he writes, “because the Steelers believe there is only one QB worthy of a first-round pick”.
From that statement alone, we can’t infer that Ty Simpson isn’t that quarterback the Steelers believe is worth a first-round pick. But later in the same chat, a reader asked him if they would draft Simpson at 21. He gave a point-blank “No” response, to suffice it to say it’s not the Alabama quarterback.
The one in question is surely Fernando Mendoza, the presumptive first-overall pick. It’s possible he ends up being the only quarterback taken in the first round, but the position usually inspires desperation. The Steelers were not desperate the last time they drafted a quarterback in the first round, though. At least not from the sense of fearing missing out on their choice.
Nobody drafted a quarterback at all by the time the Steelers used their 2022 first-round pick on Kenny Pickett. They had their pick of the entire draft class, and they chose Pickett. That’s not going to happen this year, at least not with Mendoza. But they could have their pick of every other option.
The problem is, according to Dulac, the Steelers only see one first-round quarterback in this draft class. And history may well bear that out as an accurate assessment. Just because you need a quarterback doesn’t mean you have to settle for the best available option. There are other ways to improve your team while you wait for a viable answer, and that’s what the Steelers are likely to do.
Right now, most draft analysts expect the Steelers to take a wide receiver, safety, or offensive lineman in the first round. They have a starting spot open at left guard after losing Isaac Seumalo in free agency. While they added Michael Pittman Jr. at wide receiver, the position is screaming for depth. And they added safeties, but the long-term future there is very unsettled.
While the Steelers met with several quarterbacks in the draft process, including Ty Simpson at the Combine, that means little. They didn’t exactly send the house to Simpson’s Pro Day, for example, centering on Ohio State that day. Given that there is no position more important than quarterback, you’d though that would take priority. Otherwise, this is about the most elaborate smokescreen the Steelers have pulled since Bill Nunn’s infamous shenanigans.
But perhaps the biggest shenanigan would but the Steelers actually took a quarterback like Ty Simpson with their first-round draft pick. One argument goes that if you really believe in a guy, then you have to take him and develop him. But you still have to have belief in the right guy. If he doesn’t have the talent to take it all the way, there’s only so much you can wring out of him.
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