Tag: Neil O’Donnell

2020 NFL Draft: The case for drafting a quarterback

Here is why the Pittsburgh Steelers should absolutely draft a QB in April.

Steelers.com writer Bob Labriola has repeatedly stated that the Steelers are not going to select a quarterback in the 2020 NFL draft.

To that, I say — WHY NOT?!

Let’s take a trip back in time to the seasons in which the Steelers were searching for their future at the QB position.

The 1980s was a forgettable decade for the black and gold. The Steel Curtain unraveled, and after Bradshaw retired, they endured seasons of 7-9, 6-10, and 5-11; overall, failing to win the division eight out of those 10 seasons.

The Steelers also passed on future Hall of Famer and hometown hero Dan Marino in the 1983 draft. Instead, they selected Gabriel Rivera, a nose tackle who played in six games (no starts) and was later paralyzed in a car accident never to play football again.

There was a 20-year span between franchise QBs Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger in which the Steelers had eight different signal-callers.

The ’90s showed some improvement, but the QBs chosen to direct the Steelers’ offenses were manageable and not franchise-worthy. The ultimate goal of every NFL team is to not only represent their division in the battle royale but to hoist the Lombardi trophy.

During that eight-quarterback stretch referenced above, the only one to help lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl was O’Donnell in the 1995 Super Bowl versus the Dallas Cowboys.

In the latter part of that decade, offenses were bottom of the barrel in points scored, and defenses couldn’t get off the field.

It took 20 years, four QBs drafted, four QBs acquired, and a lot of losing seasons before the Steelers hit the jackpot with Roethlisberger in 2004.

You can’t really count Omar Jacobs (2006), Dennis Dixon (2008), or Landry Jones (2013) as attempts to draft Roethlisberger’s heir apparent. Roethlisberger and the Steelers both debunked the late ’13 rumors of a trade. He was nowhere near retirement, either. The Steelers quest perhaps legitimately started with drafting Joshua Dobbs in 2017 and Mason Rudolph in 2018. And we know what happened with Dobbs.

This is not to say that with further development, Rudolph can’t help the Steelers along after Roethlisberger retires. But it would only be a band-aid on a wound — he’s not likely to be the guy for the next 10-15 years.

This is not to say that should the Steelers draft a QB in the second or third rounds that he will automatically be the post-Roethlisberger answer, either. But as they’ve seen with the QBs drafted in recent years, they won’t know until they try.

Roethlisberger’s contract runs through the 2021 season. Even if he can bounce back from injury, who knows how much longer he’ll play. Starting with April’s draft, it’s time the Steelers seriously think about the future, or there could be another 20-year drought.

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