The Pittsburgh Steelers approach the NFL Draft with a few key needs, and while the quarterback talk will continue through the season, offensive tackle, center, and cornerback remain huge needs before free agency. So, as it stands, the team could look to move up or down the board to maximize value in the NFL Draft.
Pro Football Focus believes that the Steelers are one of the teams that should look to move up in the NFL Draft this year, partially because they need a quarterback, but also because they have a solid roster and could use a game-changer player to bolster it.
“Pittsburgh is interesting,” Connor Rogers said on NFL Stock Exchange. “They need a better quarterback. I think ultimately they go the pro market and hold onto Pickett and let Pickett kinda float around between a pro-acquisition, but you can’t rule this one out. Tomlin can always get you there, they have a good roster, they’ve improved the roster over the past couple of years with good drafting, but they’re not in the driver’s seat to get one of the top quarterbacks. But man going from 20, that’s uncharted territory.”
The Steelers could be one of those teams that do make that move up the board, but it seems unlikely. Pittsburgh has publicly committed to giving Kenny Pickett another shot as the team’s starting quarterback, though head coach Mike Tomlin promised that he will face competition for the role.
But it’s not much of a surprise. The team has backed Mason Rudolph’s return in every public setting, but Tomlin’s words from his postseason press conference might ring the most. He did not hesitate to answer when asked immediately after the loss to Buffalo if the team’s starting quarterback in 2024 was on the roster.
“Yes,” Tomlin said.
That means, given Rudolph and Pickett were on the roster, it would be one of those two. But Rudolph’s situation is a little rockier than Pickett’s, who seems to have the inside hand to starting in 2024. And an investment in a first-round quarterback would seem unlikely at that point.