The Pittsburgh Steelers have a pair of Oklahoma State football alumni that are making waves in the Steel City.
Mason Rudolph knows he will be a third-stringer at best this season, but he’s got help from an old friend to help him solidify that role.
The Steelers’ third round draft pick went deep to his Oklahoma State teammate and fellow rookie James Washington in the third quarter Thursday night, bringing the Steelers to the Eagles’ 24, a gain of 35 yards. Unfortunately, the offense could not find the end zone on the drive, and the Steelers had to settle for three points from kicker Chris Boswell. Rudolph told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Throwing it to ‘13’ a little more could help.”
Rudolph went 7/12 against the Eagles, throwing for 101 yards, or an average of 8.4 yards per completion. Even his two sacks are excusable, considering he was not behind the stellar and completely gelled offensive line the Steelers enjoy during the regular season.
Josh Dobbs, the second-year quarterback out of Tennessee and Rudolph’s competition for the third spot on the depth chart this preseason, has a year’s experience on the rookie, but the two went toe-to-toe against Philadelphia. Dobbs’ completion percentage was better, going 9/13 on the night, but he threw for ten fewer yards than Rudolph, finishing with 91. The major feather in his cap over Rudolph was his touchdown pass, a 29-yard throw to Damoun Patterson to put the Steelers up 22-14 right before the half.
Rudolph has three more preseason games, starting this coming Thursday against Green Bay, to beat out Dobbs for the three spot. Continuing to connect with Washington, a guy he has history with, can only help him complete passes and put up the impressive stats necessary to climb the chart.
As for No. 13, he’s hoping Rudolph continues to find him so he can line up alongside Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sundays this year.
The collegiate and professional games are at times very different, but stats from Oklahoma State bear consideration when predicting what Rudolph and Washington can do when they’re locked into each other.
Rudolph went 318/489 in 2017 for the Cowboys, good for a 65% completion percentage and 4,904 yards. His 37 touchdowns were tempered by only 9 interceptions. Washington was his favorite target, and he tallied 74 receptions for 1,549 yards and a strong average of 20.9 yards for 13 touchdowns on the season.
If Rudolph ever gets consistent playing time further down the road, Steelers fans are in for some fun as Rudolph and Washington take their connection to the NFL.