Apr 22, 2022 5 min read

The amount of intrigue surrounding the Steelers’ first-round draft pick is palpable.

Will the Steelers select a quarterback in the first round or will they go elsewhere with their pick?

They’ve certainly done their homework on this year’s quarterback draft class. They watched closely at the Senior Bowl. They interviewed all of the top prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine and then brought them all in for private visits in the past two weeks.

That leads to the assumption that the Steelers are going to select one of them. But that’s not necessarily the case.

Yes, with the unfortunate death of Dwayne Haskins, the Steelers are more likely to add a quarterback at some point in this draft. After all, they’ll take four to training camp. One of them might as well be a rookie.

But in the first round? The only way that makes sense is if Liberty’s Malik Willis or Pitt’s Kenny Pickett is available with the 20th selection.

Otherwise, the Steelers could very well take a pass on quarterback and select one later in the draft.

So, if not a quarterback, then who?

A wide receiver would make sense. But it’s unlikely the top players at the position – Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Alabama’s Jameson Williams and Drake London of USC – will be available. Given the rise in contract costs for wide receivers, there might be an early run on the position.

If Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis or Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning are available, they also will be very tempting. But there’s a good chance that they’re gone, as well.

A cornerback also would make a lot of sense, with Washington Trent McDuffie and Clemson’s Andrew Booth both being possibilities if available.

But it’s more likely that at least one of those corners won’t be there. That could leave the Steelers filling the one open starting spot in their lineup – safety.

Michigan’s Daxton Hill and Lewis Cine of Georgia are the top two safeties available in this draft beyond Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton.

Hill, however, with his ability to play slot cornerback, would make the Steelers’ defense very dangerous.

That’s why if the above-mentioned players are gone – and even if some of them aren’t – Hill should be the pick.

• We’re heading into the final week of Kevin Colbert’s tenure as the general manager of the Steelers.

It’s been a heck of a ride. Three Super Bowls. Two Super Bowl wins. Six AFC Championship games. A record of 226-124-3, which over the course of his 22-year tenure means the Steelers averaged 10 wins per season.

The Steelers had one losing season during Colbert’s run as personnel director, that coming in 2003. He turned that into the selection of Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th pick in the 2004 draft.

Colbert accomplished all of that despite having an average finish that left the Steelers with a median draft pick of No. 23 in the first round.

Colbert has continually kept the Steelers’ roster stocked and competitive.

The Steelers put their search for a replacement GM on hold until after the draft. Once that’s over, Colbert’s contract runs out and he’ll step down as the head of the scouting department.

Then, team president Art Rooney II and head coach Mike Tomlin will begin the second round of interviews from among the 16 candidates already interviewed.

Tomlin will be involved much the same way Bill Cowher was involved in the search to replace Tom Donahoe that found Colbert in 2000.

Because of the way the Steelers run their draft process and personnel additions, the general manager and head coach work in conjunction with each other. Neither answers to the other. Both answer directly to Rooney.

It’s a process that’s been in place for years, and it’s a process the new GM will need to agree to, as well.

• The Penguins definitely needed their 4-0 win Thursday night over the Bruins to not only stem the tide and perhaps hold off the charging Washington Capitals for third place in the Metropolitan Division, but to perhaps get Casey DeSmith some confidence heading into the postseason.

It doesn’t appear Tristian Jarry is going to be ready to play in the postseason after suffering a broken bone in his foot. That puts all the pressure squarely on DeSmith to be the No. 1 goalie in the playoffs.

The Penguins aren’t likely to hang around long either way, but to have a chance, they’ll need DeSmith to play well.

• You know a player has struggled when you hear people praising how well he pitched in a game in which he didn’t make it through the sixth inning.

That was the case for Mitch Keller the other day in Milwaukee when he got pulled in the sixth inning after allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings.

It was a good start. But it wasn’t even what qualifies as a quality start.

Let’s see him start stringing some good starts together one after the other before we pat him on the back too much.

Dale Lolley covers the Steelers for DKPittsburghSports.com and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.