3 sneaky important Steelers storylines to watch during OTAs

How long before the QB pecking order changes?

I was not surprised by the quarterback pecking order in which Mike Tomlin elected to begin organized team activities. During drills, Mitch Trubisky was the QB1, followed by Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, then Chris Oladokun.

Many were surprised to see that Rudolph was penciled in ahead of Pickett, but this is pretty standard. Tomlin is going to favor the veterans until the rookies prove otherwise. At some point, this is going to change; it’s just a matter of when.

We have seen impressive Steelers rookies quickly climb the depth chart in the past, but this typically doesn’t occur until the coaches get a better look at everyone early in training camp. Over the years, we have seen several rookies start from the gate (like Ryan Shazier and Najee Harris), but the QB race seems pretty tight.

Tomlin was adamant about leaving it as an open competition. This is going to work itself out and I would expect a shift in this order in the coming months — potentially one that includes Pickett as the QB1. For now, however, this is probably how the QB order will remain until at least minicamp.

There aren’t going to be a lot of takeaways from Pittsburgh Steelers OTAs when it’s all said and done, but these are three major storylines we will continue to follow as they could each have major implications on the team this season.