3 first-round mistakes that continue to haunt the Pittsburgh Steelers
By Tommy Jaggi
2. Drafting Terrell Edmunds instead of Lamar Jackson in 2018
At the time, Pittsburgh's quarterback situation looked very secure. Ben Roethlisberger was coming off a respectable 2017 season that included Pro Bowl honors after leading his team to a 12-3 record in 15 starts. However, we knew the prolific quarterback's run would come to an end shortly, and that proved to be the case.
While Big Ben was thought to have several great years left in the tank, he only gave them one more exceptional season in 2018 before suffering a season-ending injury and his career slowing down drastically. Ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft, Roethlisberger had turned 36 years old, and was safe to assume that he was on his last legs.
In a quality quarterback class, I was extremely high on Louisville QB Lamar Jackson. I even had him ranked among my top 10 players in the draft. Sadly, the Steelers showed zero interest in drafting a quarterback high that year.
Instead of taking a Packers-like approach and getting a young, talented QB who could sit behind the current starter at the most important position in football, Pittsburgh simply attempted to plug a hole and one of the least important positions in today's NFL. They opted for Terrell Edmunds with the 28th overall pick.
This selection was a bit surprising, as most NFL Draft analysts viewed Edmunds as a second-round or even third-round player. Edmunds ended up having an up-and-down career in Pittsburgh, but he certainly wasn't a player that moved the needle for them. Of course, the Ravens drafting Lamar Jackson two picks later was just another blow to the gut. Pittsburgh's short-sightedness caused them to miss out on their next franchise quarterback.