4 quarterbacks Steelers should avoid in the 2021 NFL Draft

The 2021 NFL Draft will be loaded with quarterbacks, but here are four players the Steelers shouldn’t spend the draft capital on.

Right now, all the focus is on whether or not Ben Roethlisberger will be returning to the Steelers for a final season. After an extremely rough four-and-a-half game stretch, Pittsburgh’s offense finally strung together two impressive quarters of play against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16 to come back and win the game, but they were humiliated by the Browns in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. This raises some serious questions about the future at quarterback for this team.

With Maurkice Pouncey now officially retired, this has to have some sort of bearing on Ben’s future as the two of them planned on exiting the field for the final time together. In addition, Pittsburgh has made it known that Roethlisberger cannot return with the way his contract currently stands with a cap hit of $41.25 million, according to Over the Cap. The 2021 NFL Draft class is loaded with quarterbacks, but here are four that the Steelers should pass on this April:

Mac Jones

Of the players who will be on this list, Mac Jones is one that I might be able to get behind in the right circumstances, thanks to a phenomenal 2020 season. However, despite his dominance this year, Jones comes with plenty of concerns of his own.

The Alabama product doesn’t have any traits that jump out at you on tape. While he has been very accurate down the field last year, he has just an average arm and velocity on his ball for NFL standards, and he barely meets the thresholds as an athlete in terms of escapability and mobility required for today’s NFL. I like Mac Jones, but for where he will be drafted, the Steelers should pass on him.