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When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers, there is no hotter topic right now than the quarterback position. Steeler Nation is sitting impatiently wondering about the future of Ben Roethlisberger and how it will impact the rest of the franchise.
In talking about the future there is are two camps. First is the upcoming NFL draft and if the Steelers should address the position there, and second there are the two other quarterbacks on the roster in Dwayne Haskins and Mason Rudolph.
Haskins came to the Steelers after being released by the Washington Football Team and is playing on a classic one-year “prove it” contract. the risk to the Steelers is practically zero.
But can the Steelers get the most out of the former first-round pick or is he a draft bust from 2019? We decided to look back at what the experts and pundits had to say about Haskins before the WFT used the No. 15 overall pick on him and see if the WFT was just wrong or is there still hope.
Jeff Legwold of ESPN had Haskins as the No. 13 overall player and said this about him:
Haskins is the most well-rounded quarterback in the draft, a fierce competitor with the confidence and presence in the pocket to make plays all over the field.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah had him as the No. 21 overall player in the draft. Here’s what Jeremiah had to say about Haskins:
Haskins is a pure pocket passer with outstanding arm strength, poise and production. He lacks ideal foot quicks in his setup, but he throws from a firm platform. He has a tight, compact stroke, and the ball jumps out of his hand. He can drive the football into tight widows and displays excellent loft and touch on the deep ball. Haskins will get a little aggressive at times, but his overall decision-making has been solid.
Additionally, our friends over at Draft Wire had Haskins as their No. 1 quarterback prospect ahead of Kyler Murray, Drew Lock and Daniel Jones.
These are just three examples of many. In fact, in my research, I found no draft pundits who saw Haskins as a bust coming out of Ohio State. He was universally regarded as a first-round prospect.
So what does it all mean? It tells me the talent is there and there was some sort of disconnect in Washington. A reason Haskins slipped as a player and made some bad off-field choices. The Steelers are counting on this second chance being his wake-up call. I hope Haskins understands he won’t have a better opportunity to be successful than he will in Pittsburgh and focuses all of his attention on that.
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