Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports suggested the Steelers use their first-round choice to solve the matter in his most recent mock draft.
In his mock draft published on January 10, McIntyre predicted that the Steelers will choose Oregon quarterback Bo Nix with the 23rd choice.
He said the following regarding his projection:
“Yes, you could argue they just attempted this with Kenny Pickett, but he turns 24 in February. who only had one successful season while starting 49 games in college. Nix appears to be a fairly polished prospect after 61 starts and has been better for a longer period of time.
Based on their past offseason actions, football fans will probably know well in advance of the draft what the Steelers are planned at quarterback. However, if details are still unknown, the team’s quarterback position might make draft night quite exciting.
The Quarterback Situation with the Steelers
Kenny Pickett was without a doubt the Steelers’ starting quarterback going into the 2023 NFL season.
Over the past few weeks, that has altered.
Pickett missed four weeks of play due to an ankle ailment that needed surgery. After Mitch Trubisky struggled mightily during the first two of those weeks, Mason Rudolph took his place.
Even with Pickett back in the lineup, Rudolph performed well enough in his first two games under center to earn a third start.
With the victory, he guaranteed the Steelers a postseason berth.
He will now start in the playoffs’ opening round.
There is some doubt about the quarterback position for the Steelers going forward as a result of the circumstances.
Coach Mike Tomlin has stated that he’s simply taking a “hot hand” approach, but the organization has not indicated that Pickett’s benching is permanent.
It’s also possible that none of the other quarterbacks from this season’s squad will be on the roster the following year.
Since Trubisky was reduced to backup quarterback duties, he is a strong contender to be cut during the summer.
Mason Rudolph is a free agent, and it’s possible that other teams will also be interested in signing him to a backup position.
The Steelers are currently focused on getting ready for a playoff game against the Bills in Buffalo rather than trying to sort everything out, but they will eventually need to come up with a quarterbacking strategy.
Nix had a dismal beginning to his collegiate career at Auburn, but after transferring to Oregon, he significantly improved his situation.
Nix passed for a thousand more yards in his first season with the Ducks than he had ever thrown for in an Auburn season. His completion percentage of 71.9% was more than ten percent higher than in any of the three seasons prior.
That season, he passed for 29 touchdowns, 13 more than he had in any previous college campaign. With 510 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns, he also set career highs.
His performance at Oregon in his second year was even better.
In guiding the Ducks to a 12-2 record—the two defeats came against the nation’s runner-up—Nix shattered the NCAA single-season record by completing 77.4% of his pass attempts.
He only threw three interceptions in 45 touchdowns and 4,508 yards of passing. He surpassed Marcus Mariota’s program record with 45 passing touchdowns. On the ground, he gained 228 yards and six touchdowns.
He tied the bowl game’s record for most passing touchdowns in a single game with five during his Fiesta Bowl victory, which marked the conclusion of his collegiate career.
Although Nix may have finished third in the Heisman voting with those stats, one could argue that he was the best quarterback in college football.
Does that make him a desirable fit for the Steelers? Perhaps not.
In the first round, someone is most likely going to take a chance on him. Many clubs are in need of quarterbacks, and in 2024, a huge number of teams will have new head coaches.
Perhaps this is not the appropriate moment for Pittsburgh to take such an action.
Pickett has only been on the field for two years. Thus, they still have time to hope that he becomes a player who can at least compete at the starting level.
Additionally, this team, with its plethora of quarterbacks, just won ten games in the toughest division in the NFL. That might persuade the front desk that they can maintain their success by being dominant elsewhere.
There are a number of excellent alternatives in this draft class. And the Steelers could really use one of them.
Would it be unexpected if Nix was selected by the Steelers in the first round? No.
Additionally, it wouldn’t be shocking if they tackled a different position in the first round and offered Pickett one more opportunity to establish his suitability.
In either case, the Steelers’ future will be greatly impacted by the 2024 offseason.
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