Ben Roethlisberger is in his final seasons, and ESPN believes this is the year the Steelers should take a quarterback with their first selection in the second round.
The idea of drafting a quarterback in 2020 is very controversial when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Tomlin’s team is in the closing years of a Super Bowl window as a 38-year-old quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, looks to give one more push at a championship.
At the same time, others argue that now is the time to be looking for a future signal-caller who can sit and learn behind Ben for a season or two before taking the reigns.
ESPN has not been on the fence with their fence. They want the Steelers to take a quarterback with the 49th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. In fact, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky even wants Pittsburgh to trade back up into the first round to land quarterback, Jordan Love. Here is what he had to say on Get Up:
Justin Herbert to the Cowboys.
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 13, 2020
The Steelers trading up to grab Jordan Love.
Those are just two of the three things @danorlovsky7 would like to see happen in the NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/aowl8YDxxv
Orlovsky’s checklist of things he wants teams to do this April is unrealistic, to say the least. The Steelers don’t have the draft compensation to move back up into the first round (unless they elect to mortgage a good portion of their 2021 draft capital). In addition, he wants the Cowboys to let Dak Prescott walk in favor of drafting Justin Herbert, and he wants teams to call about trading Deshaun Watson. I would take his words with a grain of salt.
But Orlovsky isn’t the only one on ESPN who wants the Steelers to draft a quarterback in 2020. ESPN draft analyst, Mel Kiper Jr., recently made the case for why Pittsburgh should go with Jalen Hurts at pick 49 overall in his latest mock draft. Here is what he had to say:
"I have definitely been told by several teams that [Jalen Hurts] will not get out of round two."@MelKiperESPN has Hurts going to the Steelers in his latest mock draft. pic.twitter.com/sdBcJmGL8u
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 14, 2020
There is no doubt in my mind that quarterback is something that ‘should’ be on Pittsburgh’s radar, but it’s hard to believe that in a rapidly closing Super Bowl window they would spend a pick on a developmental quarterback.
The Steelers have restructured contracts and brought in players to make one last run at a Super Bowl with Big Ben at the helm. While I think quarterback is something they would have to consider if these two players started to slip in the draft, I doubt they will go that direction this year.
There is always more than one philosophy when it comes to running a football franchise, and I would tend to be a little more proactive and think about the future more than what Kevin Colbert and his crew are now. Still, drafting a player that can help them in 2020 may be enough to put them over the top as legitimate contenders in 2020.