In recent years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have found themselves a bit lacking in direction at quarterback. They tried to find a successor to Ben Roethlisberger at Kenny Pickett. However, it soon became clear that he was not their long-term answer. Now they’re stuck past their prime and with veterans trying to fill that void under the center. Aaron Rodgers appears most likely to be the Steelers’ next starting quarterback. But ESPN insider Dan Graziano believes the Steelers are trying to draft the quarterback early, whether they’re on the team or not.
“My preference is to get Aaron Rodgers,” Graziano said. Thursday at ESPN’s NFL live. “If they don’t get him, I think we’re also expecting that the Steelers will deal with their quarterback position relatively early in the draft, either in the first round or in the second day.”
That’s a bit surprising. The Steelers’ pursuit of Rodgers looks like he wants to do everything he can to compete for this year’s championship. However, drafting a quarterback in the first round would not help make that happen. It’s a move aimed at the future, especially when signing Rogers.
If the Steelers don’t land Rodgers, taking a quarterback on the first day might make a little more sense. But that may not be their best move yet. The quarterback doesn’t look like the strength of this draft class. Apparently there’s a fair amount of drop-off after the top two. Still, the best prospects aren’t creakingly pretty. Drafting a third or fourth best quarterback on 21 can hurt the Steelers more than they can help.
It could put the Steelers in a similar position to when they drafted Pickett. It was a draft class for a weak quarterback, but it felt like the Steelers had to draft someone high. This put the Steelers in Pickett for several years, putting them in a position where they are now in themselves.
At this time, Steelers have no second pick due to DK Metcalf’s trading. If Graziano was right, the Steelers could wait to use their third pick at quarterback. That’s not a terrible decision.
They are unlikely to land an immediate contributor there, but it may be worth the signalling callers to get a chance. Currently, the Steelers’ quarterback room consists of Mason Rudolph and Skyler Thompson. Even if they signed Rogers, adding newcomers to that room isn’t the worst thing in the world.
No matter what happens, it appears that the Steelers will try to inject some young people into the quarterback group. It may not be wise to do so in the first round, but taking a shot in the third round is beneficial. And it probably won’t prevent him from chasing quarterbacks in the first round of the 2026 draft. They cannot continue to place the band-aid in that position.
