When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers, three's a crowd, but four is the standard. Enter quarterback, Chris Oladokun.
The 2022 NFL Draft served up surprises to Steeler Nation everywhere. The lack of quarterback selections early on in the draft is certainly not normal, and it's not likely that we'll see that happen again anytime soon, considering the quarterback talent coming down the college pipeline. The first quarterback taken, of course, was University of Pittsburgh signal caller Kenny Pickett, drafted by the Steelers at number 20 overall. In fact, Pickett was the only quarterback taken in the first two rounds of the draft. Let's not gloss over how weird that really is: The last time that happened, for reference, was the year 2000 (it was Chad Pennington for any die-hard New York Jets fans out there).
However, that wasn't the only Steelers quarterback news to come out of the draft. All the way down at pick number 241, midway through the seventh and final round, the Steelers nabbed South Dakota State senior quarterback, Oladokun. Most fans, of course, had tuned out of the draft by that point, and were witness to the news from social media the next day. Now, with Oladokun signed to a fresh rookie contract, the collective question on everyone's minds: who is that guy, and why do the Steelers like him?
Photo via ABCActionNews.com
The Steelers regularly like to have some depth at quarterback prior to training camp. Even with Hall of Fame legend Ben Roethlisberger heading off to greener pastures, that still seems to be the case. The QB room for the 2022 season seems to be progressing into one of the most contentious in the league, with veteran Mitch Trubisky and the aforementioned Pickett at the front of the line for the starting role. Even with the starting gig locked up, though, Oladokun will have a chance to prove his worth, and possibly force fourth year Oklahoma quarterback Mason Rudolph out of town. Steeler Nation has not taken kindly to Rudolph's play since his infamous tie game against the Detroit Lions during the 2021 season; to put it kindly, the pressure is on.
Getting to know Chris Oladokun
Oladokun was a college journeyman, starting his career at the University of South Florida and Samford University before transferring to South Dakota State. In two seasons at Samford, Oladokun was an on-and-off starter who showed his mobility as well as his pocket presence. Throwing for over 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns while also adding around 500 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground, Oladokun was a much-valued piece of Samford's offense. He would then travel to the Mount Rushmore State to play one season for SDSU. Oladokun proved to be a solid NFL-caliber player in his 2021 campaign, throwing for over 3,100 yards and 25 touchdowns in 15 games. That certainly caught the eye of teams looking for a possible backup guy ready to make some noise in training camp, including Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert, who said that Oladokun did "A really nice job" while calling the offense for SDSU.
The 6-foot-2 Oladokun has been the consummate underdog for his entire career and has proven to be the type of person that Steeler Nation loves to root for. He has constantly had the trademark chip on his shoulder, and dedicated his mornings not to cartoons, but to SportsCenter, saying "all the highlights that would come on after school… I always saw myself in that light." His role models were the likes of Michael Vick and Cam Newton, and it showed during his time both at Samford and South Dakota State.
Photo via WKBN.com
Oladokun showed precision on rollout passes as well as a deep threat ability capable of comparing to any NFL-ready quarterback. His mobility, though not the likes of Newton, Lamar Jackson, or Russel Wilson, was still a constant headache for coaches and coordinators for his entire college career.
Look for Oladokun to shake things up in training camp, and possibly give Rudolph a run for his money. Best case scenario, the athletic rookie will end up as a viable third option behind Trubisky and Pickett. In all likelihood, though, Oladokun will be a solid practice squad guy, again having to prove himself on the biggest stage. Luckily, he's the type of player that Steeler Nation loves to see succeed, with the motivation to improve his game at every turn. You may not know his name now, but Oladokun doesn't see that as a bad thing: for him, it's the perfect chance.
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