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Steelers in better spot after drafting QB last year

5 min read

Remember a year ago at this time when there was a large portion of Steelers fans who wanted the team to wait until this year to take a quarterback in the NFL Draft because this year’s class of quarterbacks was supposed to be deep?

Fortunately for the Steelers, they didn’t take that advice.

Yes, there are three quarterbacks available in this draft – Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis – who will be first-round picks. And there’s another in Florida’s Anthony Richardson who could be a first-round pick. But none is a sure thing.

In fact, if Kenny Pickett were in this draft, he would be no worse than the second quarterback available. And he might be No. 1.

So, why didn’t he go in the first round last year?

Supply and demand.

The way the draft lined up a year ago, there weren’t a lot of teams in the market for a quarterback. In the previous two drafts, nine quarterbacks had been taken in the first round. Go back three drafts, and the number rises to 12.

Those teams weren’t going to take a quarterback in the first round.

Another 12 to 15 teams either had, or thought they had, their long-term answer at quarterback. As it turned out, several of those teams missed on the quarterbacks they had and will be back in the market. But that’s life in the NFL.

The point is, to get a shot at one of the top three – and maybe the top four – quarterbacks in this draft, the Steelers would have needed a top-10 pick. That wasn’t happening.

The Steelers were gifted Pickett with the 20th pick in last year’s draft. And now, he’s already gotten a year’s experience to jump start their 2023 season.

n With senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach Brian Flores taking the defensive coordinator job with the Minnesota Vikings last week, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has an opening on his coaching staff.

There’s also an imbalance. The Steelers employ eight offensive assistant coaches and only five on defense. Certainly, there are more position-specific jobs on offense, but some are suggesting the Steelers hire another offensive coach, for example, a passing-game coordinator.

If anything, the Steelers need to hire an outside linebackers coach, or at least promote assistant outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin. He coached outside linebackers at the Senior Bowl last weekend in a trial run.

There could be another surprise change on the staff still coming, say the retirement of longtime assistant head coach John Mitchell, for example, that could open another spot, but there’s nothing imminent at this point.

The Steelers didn’t even send their assistant coaches to the Senior Bowl this year, instead sending only Tomlin and the scouting department. The assistant coaches – outside of Flores, defensive backs coach Grady Brown, who was a defensive coordinator for the National team, and Martin – were given time off to spend with their families.

There might still be some staff moves that will be made, but they’ll be adjustments, not wholesale changes.

n The Penguins had won only four of their previous 10 games heading into Friday night’s game at Anaheim. They’re limping along in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

They’ve had some hot streaks, but they’ve had just as many – if not more – cold streaks.

And while there’s still a good portion of the season remaining, if they’re going to make their move, it had better be fast.

Even at that, does anyone really think they’re anything resembling a Stanley Cup contender? The Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes have seven and nine total losses, respectively, this season. The Penguins have nine overtime losses.

Instead of making a push at the trade deadline, general manager Ron Hextall might be better served being a seller. The Penguins can probably still make the playoffs this season, but they’re not going anywhere.

Super Bowl pick

Chiefs (plus 1½) vs. Eagles: This is an interesting matchup. The Chiefs have the league’s No. 1 scoring offense. The Eagles were third. The Eagles, meanwhile, were seventh in scoring defense, while the Chiefs were 15th. Philadelphia also had the league’s No. 1 defense against the pass, while the Chiefs were the No. 1 passing offense. The Eagles also played the NFL’s easiest schedule, then beat the not-ready-for-prime time Giants and the 49ers without a quarterback in the playoffs. The Chiefs’ schedule wasn’t much more difficult, but Kansas City did have to beat Cincinnati in the conference championship to get to this point. Philadelphia has the better overall roster, but the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes. Philadelphia also had the league’s best pass rush, which produced 70 sacks. Take the Eagles to win, 26-24

Last Week: 2-0 ATS; 2-0 straight up

Overall: 48-44-5 ATS; 63-34 straight up

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