With the Steelers struggling this season, here is an early mock draft to see what the team could do to rebuild next season.
The Steelers will be looking for a roster shakeup next offseason, as the current crew of players clearly isn’t good enough to get the job done. While there are some players to build around, most positions could use a new face or two. With the roster likely set to have quite a bit of turnover again, the draft will be critical in setting up the team for long-term success.
Here is an early look at a Steelers seven-round mock draft.
Steelers Round 1
I have been relatively against the idea of the Steelers drafting a quarterback in the first round of this upcoming draft. The team has made it clear they want a veteran in 2022 to start, but if the right player fell, he could be developed for a season. While the first round isn’t rich in top quarterback talent, Sam Howell checks a lot of boxes for what the team wants.
While the junior had a down season in terms of his passing production, a lot of that stems from the offense changing its scheme and focusing on the ground game. This led to Howell’s best season as a runner while still putting up good stats through the air. While his decision-making can be rough at times and his processing between reads can be slow, he has all the traits of being an elite quarterback in time.
His arm strength is one of the best ones in this class and his accuracy is also strong. The consensus is that he will need about a season to learn how to handle himself in the pocket and make proper reads. That should work well for the team though, as they can start whatever veteran they want while Howell learns on the bench. He has some development to make, but by 2023 he should be the answer for the Steelers at quarterback.