The Pittsburgh Steelers have once again watched the free-agent quarterback market dry up as they wait for Aaron Rodgers. It seems likely that the four-time NFL MVP will re-sign with them, but it’s not guaranteed. The Steelers could find themselves in a tricky situation if Rodgers retires. However, they could still target a quarterback in the draft. While there are a lot of question marks about Alabama’s Ty Simpson, Benjamin Solak thinks he could succeed in Pittsburgh.
“I don’t like all the go-to Ty Simpson landing spots,” Solak said recently on the Domonique Foxworth Show. “When I look for ones that make sense, I think he’s a hand-in-glove fit for what Mike McCarthy likes to do. In terms of, ‘We want to be four wide, we want to be able to spread the field out a little bit, we want to be able to package plays, pre-snap communication…’
“Simpson, by all accounts, is a coach’s son through and through. He’s awesome at the line of scrimmage moving stuff around. Then, does he have an enormous arm? No, but he certainly has a sufficient arm to work half of the field, throw short to intermediate, he’s got a fast release. He’s gonna allow you to be very traditional West Coast there.”
Simpson is widely viewed as the second-best quarterback in this draft. Fernando Mendoza will almost certainly be taken with the first overall pick, leaving Simpson as the next-best option for teams with a big need under center.
However, it’s unclear if he’ll even go on Day 1. This is a down quarterback class, with there being plenty of reasons to critique Simpson. For example, he only started for one season in college. There’s not a great track record for quarterbacks that inexperienced going to the NFL.
That doesn’t disregard Solak’s point, though. There are also several reasons to like Simpson, especially if a team doesn’t start him immediately. McCarthy has a long history of developing quarterbacks, and his system is quarterback friendly. He could be the right person to unlock Simpson’s potential.
McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers offense flourished when he had Rodgers under center. Yes, Rodgers was a generational talent, and Simpson isn’t close to that level. However, Rodgers’ mind was also key to that unit’s success. Simpson bring something similar to the table.
If the Steelers draft Simpson, it would probably be to not rush him along. Giving him a year to get comfortable in McCarthy’s system, similarly to how Rodgers’ career started, could be the best thing for him.
However, the Steelers might not want to spend their first-round pick on a player who’s not going to help them win right now. They still want to compete for a championship this year, and their roster has other holes.
While they’ve shown interest in Simpson, they’ve also done their due diligence on many of the other quarterbacks in this draft. Despite what Simpson could become, the Steelers might want to wait until next year to take a swing on their next franchise signal caller.
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