Steelers Trade for High-Potential QB in Latest NFL Mock Draft
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation is shaky at best. Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson have 21 combined career NFL starts, and the room isn’t filled out yet. In his all-trade 2025 NFL Draft mock-up posted Monday, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell tossed Indianapolis Colts passer Anthony Richardson into the black and gold fold.
Barnwell proposed a swap between the teams that sent Richardson to Pittsburgh for the No. 21 overall pick in the draft. The Steelers also received a second-round choice and sent away a conditional pick for 2027.
“Let’s land the Steelers another option for their future,” Barnwell wrote. “Drafting Kenny Pickett in 2022 didn’t work out, and after spending last season with Justin Fields and (Russell) Wilson, they are starting over again at the position. Mason Rudolph is back in town after a season in Tennessee, but the 2018 third-round pick turns 30 in July and has a career QBR of 49.2.”
Barnwell doesn’t buy the Steelers being OK with trotting Rudolph out as the starter, but he said he’s solid as an understudy. Anthony Richardson has fallen out of favor for Shane Steichen’s crew. They brought in Daniel Jones on a one-year, $14 million deal to compete with Richardson in training camp.
“Richardson would be a very different kind of bet,” Barnwell said. “After two years in Indianapolis, his results have been more exciting than good. In 15 starts, he has a QBR of 47.0, which includes his impact as a runner. He missed most of 2023 with a shoulder injury and was benched briefly in 2024, which means he hasn’t played much.”
Richardson was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Florida product has made 15 starts for the Colts, passing for 2,391 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. When the Steelers’ preferred option, Aaron Rodgers, was drafted in 2005, Richardson was two years old.