Grading the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback position in 2019
By Tommy Jaggi
With the Pittsburgh Steelers essentially set at the quarterback position, here is how I have their unit graded this season.
The Steelers have a potential Hall of Fame quarterback with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm. They also spend a few mid-round draft choices to sure up the position in recent years.
Here is a rundown of the quarterbacks on the Steelers roster heading into 2019, and their overall grade of the position:
Ben Roethlisberger
Big Ben is now 37 years old and could potentially be on the decline this season. However, it’s likely that Roethlisberger finishes the season still considered as a top 10 quarterback in 2019.
The 6-time Pro Bowler is about to lace up for his 16th NFL season. Coming off a year where fans would have liked to have seen a few less turnovers from the Steelers main attraction, Ben still managed 5,129 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Joshua Dobbs
Dobbs doesn’t’ have a lot of NFL game experience, and he only attempted 12 passes last season. He struggled when called upon during the Raiders game, but then again, so did everyone else on the team.
Dobbs lit up the preseason with a 434 yards, 4 touchdowns, 10.1 yards per attempt and a 112.0 passer rating. His very first NFL snap was a 22-yard strike from his own endzone on a play against the Ravens. He should be a capable backup in year three.
Mason Rudolph
There are reports that Rudolph could push Dobbs for the number two quarterback spot this offseason. Rudolph was a highly productive player at Oklahoma State, and impressed with a solid preseason showing last year.
His stock is on the rise, and he possesses great upside as the teams’ number three option at quarterback.
Quarterback Grade: A-
The Steelers are really solid on all three levels here. They have a seasoned veteran who is still playing like a top 10 quarterback in the league, and two young, capable backups with plenty of upside.
Pittsburgh made the difficult decision to let Landry Jones go last offseason, but with a pair of young quarterbacks behind the NFL’s leading passer, the Steelers are looking rock-solid for the 2019 season.