The Steelers have failed to hide their obvious desire to land a quarterback in this draft class, and here is my final ranking of the top six options.
The Steelers have made their desire to select a quarterback pretty obvious this offseason. In every phase of the pre-draft process, the team has been all over the quarterbacks and it seems like almost a certainty at this point that one is selected in the first round of the draft. With six names competing for the top spot, here are my final rankings of the six best quarterback fits for the Steelers in 2022.
Steelers 6th best fit
I almost left Carson Strong off this list entirely due to the odds of him being selected by the Steelers. In terms of the first round, there is essentially no chance as the team should have quite a few more choices than Strong in that range. On top of that, Strong has some obvious limitations in his game that will keep him from being a top quarterback in this league.
What Strong does well is utilizing his strong arm and good accuracy to command a pocket and move the ball through the air efficiently. His pocket presence is sound, his techniques as a passer fine, and he has the ability to properly process and go through reads. In terms of pure arm talents, he is easily one of the top names in this class.
What holds him back is his athleticism, or more specifically his lack of athleticism. Strong is a statue in the pocket and can’t extend the play/make the play with his feet if the play breaks down. That isn’t a fit for a modern NFL offense, unfortunately, and any team that drafts him will have to prioritize an elite line in front of him to limit his need to move. That isn’t what the Steelers are building towards though, thus Strong finds his way to the bottom of the list.
Steelers 5th best fit
Many will be surprised to see him this low on the list, but Kenny Pickett isn’t a great fit for what the Steelers should be focused on with their quarterback if they take one in the first. Sure, Pickett had an incredible final season at Pittsburgh, but that was after being marred in mediocrity before that. Even if he has turned the page, his fit as a pro isn’t a great one for this team.
Pickett is the definition of a low ceiling, high floor prospect. He has average mobility, an average arm, and decent accuracy. He won’t elevate the team he is around, but if you surround him with good talent, he will be able to win. As well, he is arguably the most pro-ready quarterback in this class, so a team needing a Mac Jones-type of quarterback play in 2022 should be all over Pickett.
The Steelers don’t need a rookie to step in right away though, making his fit with the team questionable at best. This team should be looking for guys that need some development as they will have the opportunity to sit behind Mitchell Trubisky for a season. Pickett may be the most pro-ready, but long-term he won’t be the reason a team is winning. He can game manage and run an offense efficiently, but the safer pick at quarterback fields mediocre results. The Steelers have the time to develop a prospect and thus should be going after players that can develop into more than what Pickett will likely be.
Steelers 4th best fit
A name that has risen from my initial list, Matt Corral is a polarizing player who will need a lot of work at the next level if he ever wants to be a top quarterback. He comes from a very quarterback-friendly system that allowed him to put up huge stats but will cause him to struggle early in an NFL offense. Corral has the traits needed to be an efficient quarterback in this league, but he will have to overcome the RPO-heavy offense that he ran in school to succeed.
What Corral does well is short-to-intermediate throws that are delivered with good accuracy and quickly. His game now resembles a lot of what fans saw from Ben Roethlisberger over the past few seasons, as the ball comes out quick and receivers are tasked with making a big play. This type of offense can succeed at the pro level, but it has a lot of limitations as well that will make Corral a less than desirable option.
While he does have decent arm strength, Corral rarely pushed the ball down the field. His accuracy on deep passes is questionable as well. He is a fine athlete who can make plays on the ground, but his slender frame has already led to some injury concerns. Can Corral overcome his shortcomings and become a viable starter? Yes, but the offense will very closely resemble what the Steelers have run in recent years. Because of this, he can’t rank that highly on this list even though he has some developmental traits to work with.
Steelers 3rd best fit
The third and fourth-best is essentially a tossup, as both quarterbacks have some obvious flaws as well as positive traits to work with. Ultimately, I would give a subtle nod to Desmond Ridder, as I believe that he will ultimately be the better pro if he is put into the right type of offense. While his ceiling is lower than a guy like Corral, if he finds a good offensive fit, he should be an effective quarterback.
What Ridder needs is an offense akin to what Tennessee has. Despite Ryan Tannehill not being an elite quarterback, he has a potent run game and some serious weapons at receiver to help elevate his game. On his own, he is a middling quarterback who can’t win. With a strong rushing attack and capable receivers, he is suddenly an above-average starter. Ridder will need a similarly built offense to succeed, as he won’t be able to shoulder the load if everything is put on him.
Ridder has good athleticism, a decent arm, and average accuracy as of now. He would benefit from sitting for half a season or so as he reigns in his aggressive passes though. What he doesn’t lack is leadership, as he is a natural winner and commander of a team as evident by his turning around the Bearcats program. His ceiling is limited, but in the right system Ridder should be an effective quarterback.
Steelers 2nd best fit
The top two names on this list just so happen to be the quarterbacks with the highest ceilings in this class but also the ones with the highest bust potentials. Names like Ridder and Pickett can come in and start sooner than later and should stick around in the league for a while even as only a backup. The top two names for the Steelers are boom-or-bust prospects, as either they will pan out into good players or they will likely be out of the league sooner than later.
The second-best fit is Sam Howell, as he has displayed some incredible tape while at North Carolina. His best trait is his deep ball, as he has a strong arm and incredible accuracy when targeting receivers deep. Add in his athleticism outside of the pocket and toughness and you have the baseline traits of a good quarterback.
Unfortunately, Howell struggles to progress through reads, and his mechanics as a passer are sloppy. Add in some forced passes and poor general accuracy and you have a quarterback that will need some significant bench time to hash out his issues. If he develops properly, there is little reason to believe he won’t be a decent starter in the league. That said, he will need quite a while before he can regularly be counted on to start.
Steelers best fit
Simply put, with a quarterback in place to start this year and a capable backup in Mason Rudolph, the Steelers should be targeting the quarterback with the highest ceiling. That is without a doubt Malik Willis. If the team does opt for a quarterback, taking the prospect with the most upside makes sense here, as Willis is the only draftable quarterback with star potential in this class.
That doesn’t mean he is a perfect prospect. Far from it, in fact. To me, he resembles a young Josh Allen when he came out of Wyoming a few years back. Willis has a cannon of an arm and can make plays on the ground, but he has horrible swings in his game and struggles to process through reads. His mechanics as a passer are off on top of all of this. He shouldn’t see the field until at least his second season.
That all said, Allen developed into a capable starter in this league, and Willis has that same potential. He will need consistent mechanics work early in his career, but the possibility of becoming an elite quarterback over a middling option should be enough for the Steelers. Willis has flaws and plenty of risks attached to his name, but his ceiling makes him the best fit for the team if they want a quarterback in this draft.
The Steelers have made their interest in a quarterback clear. Despite this class not boasting a top name, there are some players with good traits to build around. Of the six top prospects, this is my final ranking for what their fit is with the Steelers as the draft approaches at the end of the month.