4 reasons the Steelers shouldn’t draft a 1st round QB in 2021
By Andrew Falce
Here are the four reasons that the Steelers shouldn’t draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2021 draft
The Steelers have struggled in recent weeks on offense, and much of that blame falls on the struggles of Ben Roethlisberger. While the team is lacking options right now at quarterback, many fans have begun clamoring for the Steelers to draft a quarterback early in 2021. While that could certainly be on the board, especially if Roethlisberger decides to leave the team next offseason, there are plenty of issues in drafting a quarterback early next year.
Here are four reasons that the Steelers shouldn’t draft a quarterback in the first round next year.
Rudolph is still there
This is going to irk a lot of people, but the Steelers have a former third-round pick in Mason Rudolph set to enter the final year of his rookie deal next year. Assuming Roethlisberger is off the roster, he will be the odds-on favorite to start due to his experience in the system. Considering the Steelers will be picking in the latter half of the draft, a rookie quarterback wouldn’t be a slam dunk to start. The Steelers will likely roll with the veteran for the beginning of the season.
While the team did see Rudolph play extensively in 2019, they never really let him be a true starter. Instead, the offense tried to hide Rudolph and rely on the run, even when it began to struggle. Was Rudolph impressive? Far from it, but the system he was in did little to help him. With a strong defense still there and some talent on the offense, the Steelers would likely opt to play Rudolph over a rookie at least at the beginning of the season.
The best-case scenario is that Rudolph looks better than his 2019 tape and shows potential as a franchise quarterback. The Steelers could franchise tag him and work on getting him a new deal. The worst-case scenario is he isn’t good, the Steelers secure a much higher pick in the following draft, and they grab their successor then. It isn’t ideal, but given the team right now, it seems likely that Rudolph would be given the nod over anyone else.