When it comes to the notion of the Steelers taking a quarterback in Round 1 of this year’s NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, TribLIVE’s Mark Madden had this to say during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast.
“Ain’t no pop like the quarterback pop,” Madden said. “Art (Rooney II) wants to get a big pop at the podium when the draft is here.”
That’s true. Regardless of Aaron Rodgers’ looming decision. Regardless of how much Will Howard is being talked up right now.
However, given how desperate the Steelers fanbase is to see the franchise fortify its depth chart at wide receiver, if general manager Omar Khan takes the best WR available, that pick will be met with widespread approval too.
Redirecting Madden’s point slightly, I often wonder if the dynamic of having the draft in front of a home audience will influence the Steelers’ front office in a different way.
In other words, I’m less inclined to believe that Rooney and company will make a pick to pander to the audience and their whims. If Rooney was into that, he would’ve fired Mike Tomlin five years before he resigned, and he wouldn’t have hired Mike McCarthy to replace him.
No, I’m more inclined to believe that if Rooney, Khan and McCarthy are at all going to allow the crowd reaction in the moment to sway their judgment, it won’t be about seeking the approval of the minions.
It’ll be about avoiding the rejection of the pick. I’m not talking about seeking the cheers. I’m talking about avoiding the jeers.
Imagine how that would go over — making a draft pick in front of tens of thousands of twirling Terrible Towels, only to get that guy booed because he’s not a quarterback.
Not because of who he is as a player, but because he’ll occupy one of the other 21 positions on the field besides quarterback.
That could eventually be the case. I could see that.
There seems to be a healthy amount of skepticism about Ty Simpson right now. Much of it is justified. But (assuming Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza goes No. 1) the Alabama signal caller would probably be the quarterback we are talking about who would be available at pick No. 21 when the Steelers have their turn to select a player in the first round.
Between now and then? Well, with the way all football fans get about quarterbacks, I could certainly see this fanbase talking itself into thinking Simpson is the way to go.
After all, April 23 is a long time from Feb. 17.
Then again, with the way the draft process tends to inject helium into all QB prospects as the months drag along, maybe Simpson floats up the board long before the Steelers get a chance to pick, or before they even get in a position that they could trade up to nab him.
That could also happen with another Day 2 or Day 3 quarterback we aren’t talking as much about yet. Perhaps Garrett Nussmeier, Carson Beck, Cade Klubnik or Drew Allar get quarterback holy water sprinkled on their heads after the combine and suddenly ascend into mid-first-round territory.
Irrespective of which actual quarterback we are discussing the point is, I could see the Steelers brass being more paranoid about the negative reaction of passing on a QB than they would be tempted to induce the adulation of the masses by taking one.
Either motivation could lead to the same choice. And that choice could lead to the same result that we saw when the franchise selected Kenny Pickett at No. 20 in 2022.
The storylines were different back then, but the circumstances were similar. There was no live crowd reaction to fear. Yet there was the specter of him playing at Pitt. And the ghosts of passing on Dan Marino in 1983 were still hovering around the city — even four decades and four Super Bowl trips later.
In the end, it is my sincere hope — and my cautious belief — that the Steelers are at least smart enough at an ownership and front office level to avoid letting a momentary reaction of one Thursday night in April dictate a choice that could impact the franchise for the next five to 10 years.
That said, if there is a quarterback in play when their logo is on the big board with the clock counting down, I’m willing to bet there are going to be a few extra “what ifs” rattling through the heads of Khan, Rooney and McCarthy.
And at least a few more seconds will come off that clock before the envelope is turned in.