With the NFL Combine underway, the Pittsburgh Steelers have their brass on hand to scope out the talent in Indianapolis. General manager Omar Khan has no shortage of needs from wide receiver to defensive line to running back. But the most important need comes at the qurterback position.
Since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger following the 2021 season, the Steelers have tried everything from a first-round draft pick to stop-gap veterans to fill the void, but every effort has fallen short. Now Pittsburgh appears set to select a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Based on comments from Khan and team president Art Rooney II, the Steelers aren't likely to take a quarterback in the first round this year. However, essentially everyuthing else in in play.
Now formal meetings have already begun.
After meeting with with a cluster of interior defenders and a few running backs at the NFL Combine, Pittsburgh's brass set their sights on the quarterback position. According to the MLFootball account on X, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a formal meeting scheduled with Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers.
As a superstar at Southlake Carroll High School in Texas, Ewers ended up being the number one overall recruit in the nation in 2022, according to 247Sports. Following one season as a backup quarterback to C.J. Stroud at Ohio State, Ewers transferred to Texas where he recorded 9,128 passing yards and 68 touchdowns to go with 24 interceptions in 37 games.
Pittsburgh Steelers should proceed with caution with Quinn Ewers' NFL Combine meeting
Ewers has a live arm and the fact that he was the former number one overall recruit in the nation will intrigue some teams. Additionally, it's hard to ignore the 31 touchdown passes he threw for during the 2024 season with the Longhorns. But despite all of this, the Steelers must proceed with caution.
There are only two quarterbacks in this class worth banking on as NFL starters: Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. Because of this, the Steelers should set their expectations low and think that anyone else they would select in the NFL Draft this year would be a backup for their team.
Though Ewers was a top recruit with great college production, his film leaves you wanting more. The young quarterback was highly sporadic with accuracy and decision-making despite playing with talented receivers over the past three years like Xavier Worthy, Adonia Mitchell, Matthew Golden, and Isaiah Bond.
While I'm not opposed to the Steelers taking a flier on a quarterback in the mid-rounds, Ewers doesn't deserve to be a Day 2 draft choice. Spending a second or third-round pick on the polarizing QB is a gamble that won't pay dividends. My recent study on quarterbacks selected on Day 2 of the NFL Draft over the past decade shows condeming evidence against reaching for QBs in the second and third rounds.
Quinn Ewers will hardly be the last quarterback the Steelers meet with during the pre-draft process, and we still need to see how the NFL Combine plays out before judging too harshly. However, Pittsburgh needs to be careful not to be sucked into the lure of a player like Ewers in the 2025 NFL Draft.