Steelers Draft Digest: Penix, Nix Falling Down Boards, McCarthy Stock Rising

The quarterback buzz in in the 2024 NFL Draft is starting to take shape. Benjamin Allbright dropped a nugget on where J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, and Michael Penix will land, and meanwhile, Daniel Jeremiah followed that up with more information that teams do not like the 2025 NFL Draft’s quarterbacks at this point. All of that will factor into the Pittsburgh Steelers draft plans.

League is definitely higher on McCarthy (top 10) and lower on Nix/Penix (day2/3) than media/fans according to the people I talk to.

— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) February 8, 2024

First, Allbright said that Michigan quarterback J.J McCarthy is far likelier to end up in the top ten than anywhere else. That’s not where the media is consistently mocking him at this point; though he is seen as a first-round pick, most people have him pegged in the back half of the first round rather than catapulting his way all the way into the top ten. If that is the case, it feels like four quarterbacks will go in the top ten.

Meanwhile, Allbright says that Nix and Penix are not thought of nearly as highly as others. For example, he thinks Penix will go in the third round or early fourth round, while Nix is a likely middle-of-day two pick, going off the board before Penix. If that happens, expect guys like Michael Pratt, Spencer Rattler, Jordan Travis, and others to be there for the taking for Pittsburgh in the fourth round. Or maybe even the unexpected event that Penix actually falls to their third-round pick. If that happens, it might a hard time for the Steelers draft brass to pass on him.

I believe we'll see 4-5 teams look into moving up for a QB over the next few months. Teams aren't excited about next year's QB class.

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) February 10, 2024

Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah shared that the whole NFL is not too excited about the crop of quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft. If that is the case, it could push guys like McCarthy up the board. Will it impact one of Nix or Penix? If Allbright is to be believed, likely not.

But that could still have reverberations throughout the class. If four of the top ten picks are quarterbacks, it becomes likelier that a tackle, cornerback, or someone of significant value to the Steelers makes it to 20th overall. And it seems like the mid-round for quarterbacks is rather settled, with guys like Rattler at least boosting themselves up into the fourth-round range over the last few weeks. Given the fact that the Steelers draft investment in a quarterback feels tied to a mid or late round pick, that is significant news to them.