What if the Steelers would have drafted Lamar Jackson in 2018?

The Pittsburgh Steelers passed on Lamar Jackson for Terrell Edmunds in the 2018 NFL Draft. Here’s how their team could have looked with the MVP quarterback.

I still remember watching the 2018 NFL Draft, rightfully concerned about the pick the Steelers were going to make in the first round. With Mike Mitchell leaving in free agency and with Sean Davis as the only decent safety on the roster, it was no secret that Pittsburgh needed to address the position. The problem was, there was a severe drop in talent after the top two players.

Picking at 28, it was clear that they would have no shot at Minkah Fitzpatrick or Derwin James, and both players ultimately wound up going in the top 17 picks. Linebacker was also something that was on Pittsburgh’s radar, and there were rumors that they were interested in trading up for Leighton Vander Esch. Unfortunately, Vander Esch was long gone to the Cowboys at pick 19, and when linebacker Rashaan Evans followed shortly after to the Tennessee Titans, the Steelers were out of options.

Or were they? Though the Steelers decided to write Terrell Edmunds‘ name on their draft card, there was one player I would have loved to have at the time: Louisville quarterback, Lamar Jackson. As you know, Jackson ended up being drafted by the Ravens with the last pick in the first round of the 2018 draft.

With years left in the league for Ben Roethlisberger, this was never something that was realistically on the table, but a more proactive approach to the game’s most important position could have had Pittsburgh sitting pretty right now.

How would Steelers look with Jackson instead of Edmunds?

So far for the Steelers, Terrell Edmunds hasn’t done much in the way of earning a lot of positive recognition. Through 31 starts, Edmunds has recorded just 1 interception and 7 pass defenses. In addition, his impact plays are extremely limited, as he has just 5 tackles for a loss, 0 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery through his first two seasons. Edmunds also surrendered a 131.6 passer rating and allowed 4 touchdowns in coverage last year, according to Pro Football Reference.

Though we don’t know exactly what the Steelers would have done to fill the hole at safety, finding a player that could replace Edmunds wouldn’t be overly hard to do.

Conversely, finding a quarterback as gifted as Lamar Jackson will be nearly impossible. Throughout his 16 years in the NFL, Rothlisberger has never made first-team All-Pro. Jackson not only did that at the age of 22 last year, but he also was the NFL MVP.

Though the Steelers would have had to change their offense around a bit to suit Jackson’s abilities, the gifted quarterback would have given Pittsburgh a smooth transition from Roethlisberger to the next generation of quarterback play. In addition, having Jackson on a rookie deal while already having one of the league’s most talented defenses would have been a recipe for success. Pittsburgh’s teams could have been similar to the Seattle rosters we saw early in Russell Wilson’s career.

Though we obviously can’t see how these hypotheticals would play out, passing on Lamar Jackson for Terrell Edmunds could go down as one of Pittsburgh’s all-time worst draft mistakes. Let’s hope they can still find a way to have a smooth transition to their quarterback of the future when the time comes.