First and 10: Draft Represents Changing of the Guard

By Alan Saunders

·Updated: May 25, 2022

The 2022 NFL Draft is now just a few days away, as the league’s annual selection will start with the first round on Thursday night.

The draft comes as the endpoint of nearly a year’s worth of work for the Steelers’ scouting staff, which began preparations for this year’s draft last July. An entire year of live, in-person scouting of college football, followed by scouting at the Senior Bowl, NFL Combine, pro days and pre-draft workouts will be wrapped up this week. It’s the end of a long cycle, and the beginning of a new one.

Immediately after the draft, the teams will hold rookie minicamps, then OTAs, then minicamps, and before you know, the Steelers will be reporting to St. Vincent College for training camp.

For the Steelers, it will also be the final draft for general manager Kevin Colbert, who is stepping down afterward. The team is likely to come away with a new starting quarterback of the future. It’s the end of a number of cycles for the Steelers, but the only constant in the world is that change is inevitable, even for at team that prides itself on consistency as much as the Steelers.