With a few days until the 2023 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan and Head Coach Mike Tomlin held a press conference to open up the week. There were a few good tidbits in there, headlined by their talks on trading one of their first three draft picks. The team faces a few prevalent needs ahead of the draft, and an underrated one is not having a third (or fourth) quarterback.
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BYU quarterback Jaren Hall (#3) drops back to make a pass.
The Steelers actually met with a few prospects in this year’s class, including Houston’s Clayton Tune and BYU’s Jaren Hall. That led to speculation that Khan was set on selecting a young quarterback late in the draft to be a long-term backup to Kenny Pickett. After Monday’s press conference though, that actually doesn’t appear to be the case.
"There's some good quarterbacks [in this class], we're not taking a quarterback," Khan said in the press conference.
Khan and Tomlin were asked about which positions have a deep class, thus what led to the discussion on the quarterback position. Their comments could mean they aren't necessarily taking one of the top quarterbacks, perhaps opening up an opportunity to swap a pick with a team that does need one. On the surface though, it seems like they aren't drafting one at all.
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Steelers QB Kenny Pickett enters 2023 as the guy after beating out Mitch Trubisky in 2022.
If they don’t draft a QB to be the No. 3 behind Pickett and Mitch Trubisky, they still have a few different routes to go. They could still bring back four-year veteran Mason Rudolph, who remains a free agent at the moment. He was recently seen working out with Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson, leading to rumors that Rudolph could end up there. Regardless, that’s someone to keep in mind, as the offseason probably hasn’t gone as expected for him.
Steelers have a few options for QB3
They could most definitely pick up a quarterback in the undrafted free agent pool late in the weekend. Perhaps that’s why they met with a few prospects, just in the case that they wind up going undrafted. Of course, Khan could head back to the free agent market for a quarterback, though it’s quite thin at this point.
Last, but not least, the Steelers could turn their attention to an unusual source: the XFL. Just a few months ago, we speculated that Ben DiNucci could be a possible option. The quarterback spent some time at the University of Pittsburgh in college, while also playing his high school ball at Pine-Richland in north Pittsburgh. He’s been starting for the Seattle Dragons this season after not playing in the NFL for a few years now.
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Former Cowboys QB Ben DiNicci could be a possible option for the Steelers, especially based off his connections to the Pittsburgh area.
His initial stint in the NFL wasn’t exactly pleasant, but the experience is there. DiNucci appeared in three games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. It should be noted that not just one, but two quarterbacks will likely be added to the roster by the time training camp comes around. The Steelers, and teams in general, like to typically have four quarterbacks for training camp, providing competition for that third spot.
Do you believe these comments by Khan that the team won't draft a quarterback (at all)? What do you think the plans are for the third (and fourth) quarterback for training camp? Should the team draft a QB in the seventh round? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!
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