Don’t overthink it; Steelers are drafting a quarterback

Malik Willis #7 of the Liberty Flames. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Malik Willis #7 of the Liberty Flames. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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The Pittsburgh Steelers will soon be on the clock, and we should expect them to come away with a quarterback with their first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. 

The term ‘smokescreen’ is not in the vocabulary of Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, and general manager, Kevin Colbert (no matter what we try to convince ourselves). Since the start of the pre-draft process, I have predicted that they would do exactly that in the NFL Draft. Now, just hours from being on the clock, there’s no reason to expect anything else.

During their recent pre-draft press conference, Tomlin and (especially) Colbert seemingly revealed their cards to their opponents. They talked about their extensive research at the quarterback position this offseason, likened it to meeting with the running backs last year, and expressed that they have met with some quarterbacks as many as seven times during the offseason.

Colbert also touched on the hypothetical possibility of moving up in the NFL Draft — specifically from pick 20 to pick 7. Every shred of evidence leading up to this point has pointed to Pittsburgh targeting the QB position in round one of the NFL Draft, and the most recent Steelers press conference is just added confirmation of what we’ve known for months.

Don’t overthink the Steelers thought process

With months to prepare for the NFL Draft, this is the time of year when fans and analysts alike start to overthink things. After diving into the quarterbacks in the 2022 draft class and coming to the conclusion that none of the signal-callers would be worth the 20th overall selection, they assume that the Steelers will wait on taking a QB or target another position altogether.

However, this doesn’t line up with historical trends we have seen from Pittsburgh’s decision-makers in the front office. Let’s start with what we know.

The Steelers have certain rules they don’t seem to break. Since at least 2012 (and possibly even before), the organization has never drafted a player in the first round that they didn’t first meet with at their Pro Day.

By this metric, players like Kyle Hamilton, Derek Stingley Jr., Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., Daxton Hill, and a few others are technically options in round one. However, when you take a closer look, you will realize this probably won’t realistically be the case.

Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert went on a quarterback road trip during March in which they visited and had dinner with each of the top-five QB prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft. By doing so, they essentially forsook all other positions in the process.

When you examine even further, it’s telling that the Steelers didn’t use hardly any of their 30 pre-draft facility visits on any of these supposed round-one options. On the contrary, the used pre-draft visits on each of the top-six quarterbacks despite already meeting with each of them multiple times before this point.

Breaking it down even further, the Steelers appear to be the most interested in Liberty QB, Malik Willis. This very much feels like a ‘Najee Harris’ situation from last year. We could tell from the beginning how much they like him, and that interest has probably only grown stronger after a strong offseason of work from the talented QB.

Obviously, this doesn’t mean that I’m advocating for Pittsburgh to go this direction with their first pick, but if we are truly trying to predict the first selection, it needs to be a quarterback.

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Every shred of evidence suggests that the Steelers will take a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft. Last year, some fans started to overthink the Najee Harris-to-the-Steelers hype. Pittsburgh’s intentions are clear at this point, and I’ll be floored if they don’t take a QB in round one.