While the Pittsburgh Steelers evaluate their options under center, a critical narrative is quietly unfolding across college football. Rather than hoping one specific prospect falls to them, Pittsburgh’s long-term success at quarterback may rely on a collective surge in college passing talent.
As “Locked On Steelers” host Christopher Carter recently explained, a deep draft class offers the ideal path for general manager Omar Khan.
"Steelers fans, you should be rooting for as many of these guys to be first round picks as possible,” explained Carter. “If there's like if there's like five to seven guys that people are like, 'Oh, these are first round picks.' That's how easy it's going to be for one of these guys to slip down into a range where the Steelers don't
have to trade the entire farm to go get them."
This strategy draws direct historical parallels to 2004, when the presence of top-tier prospects Eli Manning and Philip Rivers pushed Ben Roethlisberger down the board directly into Pittsburgh's lap at pick No. 11.
"It didn't take five, but it was three quarterbacks that allowed the Steelers to kind of be aggressive for Ben Roethlisberger and say, you know, we're going to we're going to go take the shot. But if Ben Roethlisberger was one of two quarterbacks instead of Philip Rivers and Eli Manning ahead of him, Ben Roethlisberger don't fall far enough to the Steelers," said Carter.
Promising developmental arms on the roster, such as Drew Allar and Will Howard, will get their opportunities to prove themselves. However, if the upcoming draft class develops a logjam of first-round passing talent, Pittsburgh can select its next true cornerstone without sacrificing valuable future draft assets.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: The draft scenario that lets Pittsburgh land a franchise QB
