In what is now becoming seemingly a yearly tradition, the Steelers quarterback room is once again the center of attention this offseason. A year of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields yielded some decent returns, but the end results were still the same and this team is still lacking a defined franchise option.
While the team could completely rebuild the room or bring back a familiar face, the yearly cycle of what to do at quarterback is limiting this team. Until they confidently have a face for the team, they will be an average team at best.
So how does the team acquire a franchise quarterback?
The answers to this question are endless. Many prominent media members—along with an angry mob of fans—insist that you need to bottom out and tank to get a top pick for a quarterback. Others say trading for a known commodity is the best way.
Unfortunately, there is no exact science to this. Finding a capable quarterback takes some time and skill and arguably luck. That said, for a Steelers team in desperate need of a facelift, they need to leave no stone unturned.
I’m doing my part to help out. I’ve taken the top 12 NFL.com ranking list of 59 quarterbacks from last season. All of these quarterbacks are naturally seen as franchise options for their respective teams. I’ve also added Brock Purdy to the list, as he has made the Super Bowl within the last three years, and that is the ultimate goal of any team.
The list of quarterbacks includes: Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts, Jordan Love, Justin Herbert, Geno Smith, and the aforementioned Purdy.
What these quarterbacks tell the Steelers
Long story short, you are likely going to need to use your top pick on a quarterback in order to have a chance to land your franchise option. Sorry to Mike Tomlin and his belief that you don’t need to use an early pick to find a franchise guy. The median spot where these franchise quarterbacks were selected was seventh overall.
After that, trends get murky. Of the list, four of those quarterbacks were selected first overall. Unless the Steelers collapse, they won’t be picking that high. Thankfully, of the three quarterbacks that won a Super Bowl on this list, only one of them was taken in the first round.
Equally important is the way you acquire your quarterback. The draft has historically been seen as the best way to secure your guy, and the numbers back that up. Only two quarterbacks made their way to their new teams via a trade, and as it turns out, both quarterbacks were dealt in said trade.
The Rams believed Stafford gave them the best shot for their roster to win the Super Bowl (they were right). Meanwhile, the Lions used all of their resources gained in the deal to build a great roster around Goff, and they now find themselves as some of the top competitors in the NFL. A rare time a trade worked out for both teams.
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Seemingly the worst way to find your franchise quarterback is through free agency. Smith and Mayfield serve as examples of that. While both have revitalized their careers, neither are seen as premium quarterbacks.
Frankly, it seems like both finally found their way into the right system, even if they don’t have the tools to be elite. For the Steelers, taking a shot on a failed quarterback would be the best way to find their franchise guy, although I doubt that strategy pans out.
Of the players who were drafted by their teams, two were not first-round picks. Hurts was taken in the second round while Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelivent and the last pick in his draft class.
While Purdy has defied most expectations, he also benefits from a very quarterback-friendly scheme. I’m extremely curious as to how the San Francisco quarterback room will pan out with him needing a new deal.
Hurts, meanwhile, has had to have an offense entirely built around his strengths. While a good player, the Eagles do whatever they can to keep their run game strong to keep the pressure off of him.
This isn’t to say that you can’t get your guy in this range, but you do need to give them the perfect scheme to succeed. That isn’t to say that the top quarterbacks don’t benefit from good schemes, but they are more flexible with how they can win.
Most notably, you have seen five of these franchise quarterbacks require a trade-up to acquire. If you take out the non-first-round picks (it seems like most teams let those options fall to them as opposed to making a move for them) then half of the franchise quarterbacks had to be traded for.
Digging even deeper, only one trade involved the first pick in the draft. That means if you take out the first overall picks, two-thirds of the franchise quarterbacks have needed to be traded up for.
What can the Steelers learn from this
It seems like the choice is clear. The Steelers either need to land the top pick or need to be willing to trade up to get the guy they want. Trading up won’t be cheap though, and it will likely cost the team their first-round pick the following year.
That means they don’t need to tank though either. Most of the top quarterbacks went to teams that had respectable records the year before. The franchises put all of their faith into the incoming quarterbacks and built the team around them.
2025 certainly isn’t the year to make this kind of a move. You would have to trade up into the top five in order to acquire them, and this class seems weaker than usual.
Next year and beyond, this team needs to have a serious conversation about moving up for a quarterback. It’s the most proven method. More proven than taking a non-first-round quarterback and more proven than tanking for a top name. Pittsburgh has to find their guy and make an aggressive move to get him.