Steelers scouting process draft qb quarterback Tomlin sanders trade
Steelers scouting process draft qb quarterback Tomlin sanders trade
“Quarterback mobility is a more significant part of the game than it’s ever been in today’s game.” Those are the words of Mike Tomlin in March 2022 via Steelers.com as the team was preparing to draft a hopeful successor to Ben Roethlisberger. That, and a long list of other similar comments, really made it seem like the Pittsburgh Steelers were focused on adapting to the times and drafting a QB with significant mobility.
Their decisions since then have not been consistent with that philosophy, which has left one beat writer questioning their overall strategy.
“The Steelers appear to have zero vision at QB,” Brian Batko wrote via his weekly Steelers chat on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “First it was mobility. Then it was veteran leadership. It all kind of just makes you think Mike Tomlin is flying by the seat of his pants depending on whatever (sometimes brutal) options are out there, which is actually what a lot of QB-needy teams are forced to do anyway.”
The Steelers can only draft and sign from the pool of available talent, but their choices have been questionable along the way. They selected Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft, making him the only QB taken in the first round that year. He had some mobility, but nobody was mistaking him for a true dual threat.
Then came the duo of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. An injury forced Fields into action and gave the Steelers every chance to ride his wave after a 4-2 start as one of the premier dual threats in the league. They rolled with 36-year-old Wilson for the final 12 games instead and watched Fields leave Pittsburgh for the New York Jets in free agency.
Mike Tomlin’s decision-making process wasn’t necessarily wrong with one of the youngest offenses in the league desperately in need of a veteran leader. But it was still inconsistent with what he had been saying about mobility and his vision for the future of the position in Pittsburgh. Especially with Fields sitting right there 10 years younger than Wilson.
Now they are taking things one step further with Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph as the top two candidates to start in Week 1. Rodgers used to be relatively mobile, but he’s now 41 years old. His days of extending plays or gaining yards with his legs are well behind him.
So what exactly is the Steelers’ plan? Assuming they take another first-round quarterback for the second time in five years in the 2026 NFL Draft, what will be their guiding philosophy? If they valued mobility as much as they said they did, they probably would have stuck with Justin Fields.
With a stockpile of draft picks ready to go, they are likely to make a significant trade to move up for the guy they want. They better have a strong conviction on that player, and their overall vision for the future of the position in Pittsburgh when they do so.
Related Items:Aaron Rodgers, Brian Batko, Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Russell Wilson