So... you HAVE TO take a quarterback in this draft... who ya taking?

[Chadman]

If you are TRADING for a QB, I think the focus is wrong looking at Mac Jones.

I'd pivot to Will Levis.

He's not supplanting Cam Ward anytime soon & Mitch Turbisky was added to the roster. Levis has nowhere to go there.

I don't think Levis will cost a 1st round gold mine either.

He's as good an option as anyone available.

 

[Steeltime]

when you trade down in the first, you do not want to trade out of the first.
first round contracts are a year longer than second rounders and so on.

The simple fact is that focusing on a guy this year and pushing to go 10-7 will yield another 21 pick next year with no real draft capital and the same ****, once again. The Steelers could deal their #1 pick and stay in the first round ... if they had pick 16. Pick 21 means some good players are available but nobody worth giving up a #1 this year and a high pick in 2027.

Dealing 21 for pick 33 or 35 will give the Steelers a 2nd round pick next year. If the Steelers want to make a real move to get a QB with a top-8 or top-6 pick, then they would have the capital to offer their 2027 1 and 3 along with a 2028 1, and still have 2 picks 2nd round.

Just continuing the Tomlin no losing season ("NLS") approach has to end, right now. Therefore, losing the extra year of control on a player is the price needed and has to be paid.

regarding Mac Jones - he may be better than Will Howard right now. In fact, its not arguable. He is. He's seen playing time and has thrown passes in a game. Howard, as much as I'm hoping for the guy, simply has not.

ideally for a trade of Jones, there's someone at 21 the 49ers decide they cannot live without. Jones has a pretty easily movable contract and the 49ers have $30mil in cap space per overthecap.

They have these WRs: Jordan Watkins (24), Malik Turner (30), Demarcus Robinson (31), Ricky Pearsall (25 and a gunshot hole), Christian Kirk (29), Mike Evans (32), Jacob Cowing (25), Junior Bergen (23) and Brandon Aiyuk (28 and like to be cut/released).

It's not far fetched to consider they may want to move up to snag KC Concepcion, Denzell Boston or Chris Bell.

The problem is that SF doesnt have a lot of draft capital to play with. 1.27, 2.58, 4.127, 4.133, 4.138, 4.139
Whereas we're at 1.21, 2.53, 3.76, 3.85, 3.99, 4.121, 4.135, 5.161, 6.216, 7. 224, 7.230, 7.237

I'd swap first round picks to get Mac Jones and SF throw in a pick, but SF may want to have a pick. At which I'd offer 5.161 and go as high as 4.121. Our first five picks should be held at a premium.

Mac Jones is good under Mike Shanahan. He is not good without that system and those players. He will be mediocre with the Steelers since he remains undersized with good-not-great arm strength and average athleticism. Mac Jones is the perfect 10-7 QB, yielding another pick around 21 in 2027.

Great. Maybe they can draft Mac Jones II and hope for another 10-7 season.

Enough already. Stack up some draft capital to get a genuine QB in 2027. Play Howard and the later-round pick, somebody like Allar, take the damage during the season, get a pick in or near the top-10 and build the team for 2027. This endless **** of NLS has to freaking end. Now.

 

[Steel Maniac]

As several others have noted in this thread, another game manager is not the answer. For the love of God, can we please, please, PLEASE move on from 10-7 and a 1st round pasting??

Mac Jones is the ultimate game manager, 10-7 QB. Ty Simpson is a game manager, 9-8 or 8-9 QB so long as he has a very good running game.

ENOUGH OF THAT ****!!!!

Did you see Mac Jones play last year? He looked like more then a game manager. For a 3rd round pick, he could come in, start and let McCarthy groom Howard for the coming years. But if we don't get Jones, I'm more than happy to take Beck, Allur in the third round.

 

[Coryea]

Oh, make no mistake, I am definitely not pushing for another year of Rodgers. The "crafty vet" strategy is another guaranteed mediocre season with no chance in the playoffs.

The Steelers need to look beyond the tip of their nose for once. Deal the #21 to drop down and get any number of players who are basically #20 to #40 picks in terms of talent and are almost identical as to likely NFL stardom, use that to get a #2 pick in the 2027 draft, and plan on using the #1 and #3 picks and the 2028 #1 to move up to a legit spot to get a franchise QB. No way around it.

By trading down and getting another #2 pick in the 2027 draft, the team still has a lot of draft capital to help the new QB. The draft value chart shows the Steelers #21 is worth 800 points. If Seattle wants to move up, their #1 and 2027 #2 are worth around 800 points. That is just one example.

I don't mind using draft capital to move around in the draft, the only problem with looking forward to a certain draft is that pre 2025 draft everyone said the 2026 draft will be loaded with 1st round QB's, now maybe 2 will go in round 1.
That's why I'm not against bringing in a guy like Jones or a similar guy in, gives you that slight chance of catching lightning in a bottle or a Sam Darnold.

 

[Confluence]

I don't really mind any of the varied attempts the Steelers have made post Ben, because any one of the Haskins, Trubisky, KFP, Fields, Wilson or Rodgers experiments could have gone right.....but they didn't. The real issue in executing the past few years was probably in poor staffing/scheme as we've lamented.

The fundamental problem stems from Ben's elbow injury. The timing could have allowed the team to finish the season poorly with a top 5-10 pick, but instead the Steelers traded for Minkah. While Minkah had 3 great seasons here, Id rather that the team had started it's HoF QB replacement plan earlier.

That said, as Steeltime laid out above, if you want to have the power to grab a guy next draft, you need to move assets from this season and to pull forward from 2028 to get an early spot in line.

 

[Litos]

rumors are no one want to give up 2027 assets in trade

 

[MTC]

Totally agree about the trailer park meth head comparison..

I actually mentioned that during the season that this kid doesn’t look right..

Actually concerned for the young man, it seems to me that he might have some issues and challenges..

Hope that I’m way off base with that analysis of him, but I’ve been around a long time, and I know that I’ve seen enough to know that I’ve seen enough..,

NIL $$$.
Miami night life.


Never been to Miami but the guy could’ve still had Athens and Atlanta at his beck & call (no pun intended).


Aside, I wish him well and hopefully the nfl humbles him a bit to where he realizes his talent is to not be taken for granted.


I did have high hopes for him after his 1st season at UGA

 

[Superman]

The simple fact is that focusing on a guy this year and pushing to go 10-7 will yield another 21 pick next year with no real draft capital and the same ****, once again. The Steelers could deal their #1 pick and stay in the first round ... if they had pick 16. Pick 21 means some good players are available but nobody worth giving up a #1 this year and a high pick in 2027.

Dealing 21 for pick 33 or 35 will give the Steelers a 2nd round pick next year. If the Steelers want to make a real move to get a QB with a top-8 or top-6 pick, then they would have the capital to offer their 2027 1 and 3 along with a 2028 1, and still have 2 picks 2nd round.

Just continuing the Tomlin no losing season ("NLS") approach has to end, right now. Therefore, losing the extra year of control on a player is the price needed and has to be paid.



Mac Jones is good under Mike Shanahan. He is not good without that system and those players. He will be mediocre with the Steelers since he remains undersized with good-not-great arm strength and average athleticism. Mac Jones is the perfect 10-7 QB, yielding another pick around 21 in 2027.

Great. Maybe they can draft Mac Jones II and hope for another 10-7 season.

Enough already. Stack up some draft capital to get a genuine QB in 2027. Play Howard and the later-round pick, somebody like Allar, take the damage during the season, get a pick in or near the top-10 and build the team for 2027. This endless **** of NLS has to freaking end. Now.

don't get me wrong - i'm 100% onboard letting Aaron retire and rolling with Howard for good or bad this upcoming season. I've said all along that I do not see any of the QB crop in this draft as being any better, and I doubt he could do worse than Mac Jones. However, if Aaron does retire, I'd much rather have Jones than Rudolph. Or Levis. Though Levis could very well benefit from a change of scenery with a real offensive system.

 

[Steeltime]

don't get me wrong - i'm 100% onboard letting Aaron retire and rolling with Howard for good or bad this upcoming season. I've said all along that I do not see any of the QB crop in this draft as being any better, and I doubt he could do worse than Mac Jones. However, if Aaron does retire, I'd much rather have Jones than Rudolph. Or Levis. Though Levis could very well benefit from a change of scenery with a real offensive system.

In looking over this draft pool, it seems like a ton of players are worth pick 30-45, but not many are worth top-20. And this supposedly great QB class actually sucks. Kenny Pickett would be the 2nd best QB in this pool, though Kenny does not go into the pool because his tiny hands are not big enough for him to be able to swim.

 

[SteelerFan448]

rumors are no one want to give up 2027 assets in trade

Makes sense. They're predicting a deep pool of high-end talent next year. We'll see how many of the players enter the draft because college boosters will be opening up the wallets to keep them in school or get them to transfer.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

If you are TRADING for a QB, I think the focus is wrong looking at Mac Jones.

I'd pivot to Will Levis.

He's not supplanting Cam Ward anytime soon & Mitch Turbisky was added to the roster. Levis has nowhere to go there.

I don't think Levis will cost a 1st round gold mine either.

He's as good an option as anyone available.

I’d stick with Rudy over Levis

Just cuz the Titans way over drafted him doesn’t make him worth

I’d consider a 7th for him in say 2029

 

[Fiji Mariner]

In looking over this draft pool, it seems like a ton of players are worth pick 30-45, but not many are worth top-20. And this supposedly great QB class actually sucks. Kenny Pickett would be the 2nd best QB in this pool, though Kenny does not go into the pool because his tiny hands are not big enough for him to be able to swim.

KFP isn’t better than Beck, Nuss and likely a few others…he’s hit his ceiling of almost mid grade QB2-3 on multiple teams now. He can’t catch on in some garbage QB rooms. He’s lucky af the Panthers handed him that contract.