The Pittsburgh Steelers search for their next franchise quarterback will continue today. According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Steelers will be visiting with Carson Strong today at their South Side facility.
More visits: The #Steelers host #Nevada QB Carson Strong today and #OleMiss QB Matt Corral tomorrow as they continue to take a closer look at the top QBs. https://t.co/dnL50sPPux
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 13, 2022
This will be the fourth time that the Steelers have had a quarterback in for a pre-draft visit. The others include Sam Howell, Desmond Ridder, and Chris Oladokun.
They also plan to meet with Mississippi quarterback Matt Corral tomorrow. We highlighted on Monday that Pittsburgh native, and rocker Bret Michaels is friends with Corral and has been advocating for him to anyone that will listen. Liberty quarterback Malik Willis is also scheduled to visit Pittsburgh on April 20th.
Carson Strong, quarterback of Nevada
Strong isn't considered to be a first round talent, but could pop into the second round according to many draft experts. He's been compared to Drew Bledsoe by NFL analyst Lance Zierlein. As you might remember, Bledsoe was a good quarterback for a number of years, but was replaced in his prime by Tom Brady. Then he floated around the league for a number of seasons after that.
Strong has no fear and has the ability to fit throws into places that he shouldn't try. But in the NFL, that could come back to bite him in the butt. Nevada ran a wide open passing attack that required Strong to be a gun-slinger, but the same mentality might not work against NFL defenses. Concerns about his long-term health as he's had several procedures on his knees will likely drop him on a lot of team's boards. His knee concerns started in high school and have continued through college.
The Steelers are reportedly trying to find a quarterback that has a good mix of passing ability and mobility. Strong has zero mobility, and wouldn't be much of an upgrade in that department from 39-year old Ben Roethlisberger.
"The medicals are what they are but it also depends on how each team's doctors see it. He's going to move around like an old Philip Rivers but he's got special arm talent." -- Director of scouting for NFC team (via NFL.com)
Following the Senior Bowl, our senior writer Matt Papiernik listed Strong as someone that had their stock drop following the game.
Coming in as one of the bigger quarterbacks in the group with good arm strength, it was disappointing to see Strong leave balls consistently low and inaccurate throughout the day. He impressed with his deep ball at times, but there was more bad than good with his on field performance on Day 1.
Pittsburgh will continue to do their due diligence on quarterbacks, but hopefully they won't be reaching for Strong in the first round.
