Steelers draft: Phil Jurkovec would be perfect fit at QB after Roethlisberger

The Pittsburgh Steelers could be looking for a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft. Here’s why Phil Jurkovec is the perfect replacement for Ben Roethlisberger.

We are entering the home stretch of the 2021 NFL season, and right now, the focus for the Pittsburgh Steelers is on making the playoffs. However, Kevin Colbert and the scouting department are currently doing something that could prove to be more important than the outcome of this season: searching for their next franchise quarterback.

Recently, there has been some speculation that Steelers will go with a veteran QB after Ben Roethlisberger. However, that’s not guaranteed to be the case — especially if a few players they are interested in don’t become available for trade.

If this is the case, Pittsburgh could look to fill the void through the NFL Draft. Since the summer, there have been many different opinions about which quarterbacks would be the best fit for the Steelers when Roethlisberger retires. However, Boston College QB Phil Jurkovec seems like a match made in Heaven.

Why Jurkovec is a perfect fit for Steelers after Ben

I’m willing to bet that Jurkovec would be a much more talked-about draft prospect on the rise right now if it wasn’t for an injury to his throwing hand early in the year that caused him to miss most of the season.

Since he has returned this November, however, Jurkovec has led his team to wins over Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech in back-to-back weeks. In his most recent contest, he put up 41 points on the road while throwing for 15.5 yards per attempt, rushing for 71 yards, and scoring 5 total touchdowns, via Sports Reference.

If you study the tape, it’s not hard to see why Jurkovec would be such a great fit in Pittsburgh. This probably has something to do with how closely he resembles a young Ben Roethlisberger.

At 6’5” and 226 pounds, Jurkovec has terrific size, but he’s much more athletic than you would expect for a quarterback with his frame. The redshirt junior runs a pro-style offense and is just as good when the play breaks down as he is operating in timing.

Jurkovec doesn’t have as big of an arm as Ben did coming out of Miami of Ohio, but it’s very good — even for NFL standards — and his ability to direct traffic as he’s rolling outside of the pocket is some of the best that I have seen in years.

In addition to his spectacular traits, Jurkovec could come at a discount cost. He didn’t become a starting quarterback until his redshirt sophomore season in 2020. And because of his injuries, Jurkovec has started just 14 games so far in his college career. With other quarterbacks being talked about as earlier draft picks, it’s possible that a team could steal Jurkovec for a late second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft next April.

There’s no guarantee that Phil Jurkovec will elect to come out this year, as he can technically stay in school for one more season. However, he is an extremely gifted player who played his college ball in the north and has an arm that can cut through any weather conditions.  This is the player the Pittsburgh Steelers should be studying intently.