ESPN recently released their future power rankings for all 32 NFL teams. Here’s why they think the Steelers are in the bottom half of the league moving forward.
For the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have a chance to compete. While both oddsmakers and the mainstream media agree that Pittsburgh only has the third-best chance to win the AFC North this season, most believe they will still be in contention for the playoffs and that they will come away with a winning record yet again this year.
Sadly, their future looks much murkier. Though they have some quality talent to build around, they have major question marks regarding the future of their offensive line. Most importantly, their quarterback situation could soon be one of the worst in the league, as Ben Roethlisberger could be entering his final season with the Steelers and the team could go through some major growing pains as they search for his successor.
Recently, a panel of experts at ESPN ranked each team on a weighted scale in terms of their overall roster, quarterback, coaching, draft, and front office. While their coaching and front office received respectable ratings, their overall roster has some concerns – none bigger than the quarterback position.
Because of this, ESPN has the Steelers ranked as just the 17th-best roster in their future power rankings. Here’s some of what Field Yates had to say:
"One of the steadiest franchises in football enters an interesting phase: Ben Roethlisberger has just one year left on his deal and had to agree to a reduced salary to stick around for this year. It wouldn’t be a surprise if 2021 is his final season in the NFL, which begs the question of what’s next for the Steelers under center in the years of 2022, 2023 and beyond. The current pipeline is led by Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins, both of whom have much to prove. But you know this team will find ways to be competitive with Mike Tomlin as head coach."
It’s clear that both Yates and the panel at ESPN agree that quarterback is going to be a major issue with this team moving forward. So just how concerning is Pittsburgh’s outlook at the quarterback position?
Quarterback is the biggest concern for Steelers beyond 2021
I happen to agree completely with this statement. While I’ve encountered many Steelers fans who believe that either Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins will be the answer for this team after Ben Roethlisberger, I simply do not see it.
Both Rudolph and Haskins have very replaceable skill sets, and their careers have gotten off to very slow starts. This doesn’t remove them from the equation entirely, but it doesn’t help. Additionally, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Pittsburgh to invest a lot of time and effort on these two veterans who are no longer under rookie contracts when they could opt to go for a younger, more talented passer in the NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, finding one on the first try is never a guarantee. Pittsburgh went through a 20-year drought between the end of Terry Bradshaw’s career until they found a true franchise quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. While there were some competent players along the way like Neil O’Donnell and Kordell Stewart, neither was good enough to stick around for the long haul.
Nobody said that the post-Ben Roethlisberger era is going to be easy, and ESPN is probably correct in assuming that his team isn’t in the best of shape until they find their next franchise quarterback. In today’s offensive-powered NFL, it’s hard to win without one.