It is no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers are in desperate need of quarterback help. We are all anxiously awaiting a resolution to the Aaron Rodgers saga. This has led to rampant speculation of how the team will acquire another quarterback.
While I personally prefer Mason Rudolph over Rodger for a variety of reasons, I still realize the need for a better quarterback solution long-term. The ways of acquiring that this year aren’t appealing, as the draft is filled with lackluster options to choose from.
This makes the recent Joe Milton trade that much more upsetting.
After a promising rookie season (albeit with limited action to showcase his ability), Milton was dealt by the Patriots to the Cowboys. Despite rumors swirling that New England wanted a third-round pick for the rookie, he was ultimately dealt alongside a seventh-round pick in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
The Pittsburgh Steelers missed out on acquiring Joe Milton
I was higher than most on Milton coming out of the draft last year. The then-Tennessee quarterback had every trait that you want in a game-changing quarterback. He has a booming arm and great mobility.
So why was he only a sixth-round pick? His mechanics are horrible, which led to accuracy issues. With him being an older prospect, there was real concern that he wouldn’t be able to fix any of those issues.
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In the preseason and his lone, late-season start though, he looked the part of a viable developmental quarterback on a bad Patriots offense. Perfect? Absolutely not, but certainly a player worth gambling on.
A third-round pick was a rich asking price, but what he ultimately got moved for was far fairer. Frankly, I’m surprised the Patriots even accepted such a deal, but knowing the fact that they did, why didn’t the Steelers offer a similar deal for Milton?
It seems like a foregone conclusion that they will be drafting a quarterback this year. Some think that it could be as early as the first round, but more than likely, someone is added in the third or fourth round.
The crop of quarterbacks in that range isn’t significantly better than Milton. Honestly, I would argue that they are worse and lack the traits to be legitimate franchise passers.
Assuming Pittsburgh uses their third or fourth round pick on him, they are essentially spending more on a worse prospect than they would have needed to bring in Milton. For an offseason that has been wildly lackluster, this is just another disappointment to stomach.
I understand that more than likely, Milton won’t become the next great late-round quarterback, but he has the same odds, if not slightly higher ones, of panning out than Will Howard or Jalen Milroe. Considering he would have cost less, it seems mind-boggling that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t do more to bring in Milton this offseason.