Carter's Classroom: Why Dobbs was Steelers' perfect QB choice

The Steelers knew they needed to address their quarterback position somehow during the 2017 offseason. Ben Roethlisberger's open contemplation of retirement and his turning of the age of 35 in March drew closer the impending question of what the Steelers would need to do at quarterback after his era finished.

But 2017 is not the quarterback draft class that 2004 was, when Roethlisberger was selected by the Steelers with the 11th pick in the draft. That class had multiple quarterbacks that were considered to capable of raising a franchise.

2017 was quite the opposite.

While three quarterbacks were selected in the first round in Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson, the consensus on this quarterback class was that it was not the year to invest into the position.

But this worked out in the Steelers' favor, as there were multiple needs that it could fill in other positions with their early picks.

That led them to spend a fourth round pick on Josh Dobbs from Tennessee, senior that started all of his final two seasons with Tennessee and totaled 42 touchdowns with 17 interceptions in those seasons.

Let's get into why Dobbs was available late in the fourth round and why the Steelers took him:



Dobbs' tape garnered both many praises and many criticisms of his play in the NCAA and concerns whether it would translate to the NFL. From the praises it was clear that Dobbs has the build, 6' 3" 230 lbs., athletic in his 4.64 time in the 40 yard dash as well as a 4.31 time in the 20 yard shuttle, and has the arm strength to take shots down the field.

What the critics of Dobbs point to is the fact that he played out of the shotgun for his entire career at Tennessee and his mechanics that led to inaccurate passes and poorly placed throws at times.

What I see when I watch his tape, Dobbs shows me a player that can work through the progressions of his offense. He combines that with a toughness that reminds me of Roethlisberger, as he is not afraid to take hits or stand up to the pressure from incoming blitzes. Dobbs will even throw himself into the fray when he's running with the ball.

UNDER PRESSURE

Another aspect that is less taught and more natural about Dobbs' style of play is how he is sometimes unflinching under pressure. If a defender is coming right at him or the pocket is crumbling around him, he has shown on several occasions that he can maintain his focus down the field while also moving with urgency to avoid the pressure.

Here's an example of him stepping up in the pocket nicely to fire an on target pass 15 yards down the field:



While the receiver drops the ball, it hits him squarely in the hands and Dobbs did everything he could on the play. When I went through his tape, there were several instances throughout the 2016 season when Dobbs would be under pressure and not just look to scramble or go down for the sack, but continue processing through his reads in order to find the best receiver to target.

Here he feels the pressure again and throws the perfect floater pass to his tight end over the zero coverage blitz. Notice how he stands tall in the pocket in order to keep his eyes looking down the field:



Dobbs is often praised for his intelligence off the field, but I think he applied his football IQ more than adequately on the field. His more than 2-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio shows that and the tape on how he goes through his reads despite the amount of pressure in his face confirms he can keep it up under pressure.

BALL PLACEMENT ISSUES

The most legitimate criticism of Dobbs is his lack of accuracy when it comes to intermediate throws. He will place the ball where he thinks the receiver will be at times rather than where they really are in their route.

Watch this forced throw as the defensive back has position in front of his receiver in the end zone, but Dobbs still throws where the in route was leading to and gets intercepted:



When Dobbs starts working with the Steelers, he will have to spend time improving both his accuracy and his stubbornness that he exhibited during his NCAA career.

It's not a horrible trait, as Roethlisberger made a name for himself with his success despite holding onto the ball and forcing passes into tough spots on the field, but it's something that if improved, Dobbs could be much more ready to be an NFL starter.

Watch how Dobbs forces this pass in overtime. He's definitely targeting the tight end but it looks as if either there was a miscommunication on where the tight end was supposed to be or Dobbs missed his mark badly:



My guess is that Dobbs thought his read would be there but was not able to adjust based on the developing coverage. Initially the deep safety on the side of the field looked as if he would be running with the flanker receiver outside the numbers, but he turned to the inside and nabbed an interception at the last minute.

MOBILITY

Another thing that is fun to watch about Dobbs is how his athleticism can allow him to pose an extra threat to defenses. Dobbs could take off from the pocket and have the agility to make defenders miss down the field like he did here when he needed to keep a drive alive:



Notice how Dobbs has his head up down the field and is looking to set up defenders with moves as he runs. That can be very frustrating to try and prevent when a defense has to cover multiple options down the field and keep contain on the pocket.

But Dobbs doesn't just look to make people miss down the field, he also is not afraid to lower his shoulder, especially when he sees the goal line:



Many times throughout his career you can see him running in the red zone with the intent to score and sacrificing his body to run through defenders in order to get to the end zone. He lower his shoulder and maintains his leg drive, showing no fear despite running through the heart of the defense on this play.

That earned the respect of many of his teammates over the years and went perfectly along with his positive presence in the locker room as an offensive leader for his team.

But Dobbs doesn't just commit to the run when he's on the move, he can make some nice throws while moving as well. Watch the below play as Dobbs rolls away from the cornerback blitz, evades a defensive end that penetrated two linemen, and still was able to hit his target against a tight zone defense:



This is the kind of stuff that you see frustrate defenders and make them start to sell out on plays as it tests their patience. If a quarterback can do this consistently, you'll see defenders start to bite on pump fakes and short routes, opening up the deep ball as they bail their responsibility.

Fortunately, the deep ball is something in which Dobbs specializes. But we'll get to that in a bit.

PROGRESSIONS

When I look for quarterbacks there are multiple traits that I look for to see if they can be successful in the NFL. While Dobbs checks the boxes of having good size, a good arm and a solid sense of pressure, I really want to see how the quarterback operates in his offense.

Dobbs showed me that he could absolutely work through his reads in order to find open receivers against various looks. Watch how his first read on this play is to his left, but his staring down that side opens up the middle of the field more for him to hit his tight end in the middle of the field for a first down:



Dobbs is very good at using his eyes to play off defensive backs and that's something that can go a long way to making him a talent in the NFL. Especially when combined with his arm, this trait could be what eventually makes him an interesting option at quarterback for the future should Roethlisberger retire soon and the Steelers have not found a clear-cut franchise quarterback at the ready.

Watch here how Dobbs baits the safety by looking to the left, only to turn and fire a precise deep ball ot his streaking receiver on the other side of the field for a touchdown:



It should also be noted that his offensive line missed another block that had a defender screaming down his sightline, but that did not deter him from both faking out the safety and making a good deep pass down the field.

Unconventionally, Dobbs' accuracy seemed at its best when he was targeting deep passes. He completed over 47 percent of passes over 20 yards, while scoring 14 of his 27 touchdowns with deep passes. That's not just heaving and praying either, as many of those plays featured manipulation of the deep safeties like you saw in the above play.

STEAL? REACH? OR JUST RIGHT?

Ultimately the Steelers needed to address the quarterback situation in some form during the offseason. Roethlisberger is still the franchise quarterbacks and probably will be for at least two more seasons, but behind him is Landry Jones, who does not inspire any confidence if he has to fill in for Roethlisberger during an injury.

The Steelers could have addressed this need in free agency, but opted for the draft as their talent pool to choose from. They not only made Dobbs one of their official visits, but they also went to Tennessee's pro day and Mike Tomlin could be seen interacting with Dobbs while on the field.

If there's any doubt as to if Dobbs will be able to handle the many mental processes an NFL must go through in order to conduct an offense, his aerospace engineering major should put many at ease. That doesn't always translate in football, but it does display that he has the ability to learn complex concepts.

The bet the Steelers made was a late fourth round pick to see if that ability to learn can lead to success on the field.

Dobbs was considered as high as a potential second round pick by Mel Kiper Jr. and met the general consensus as a third round pick across most draft boards. Getting him in the later part of the fourth round was a steal on the part of the Steelers.

The top quarterbacks to go in the draft were Trubisky, Watson, Mahomes and DeShone Kizer, but none of which were players that were considered as definite franchise quarterbacks. Watson might have been the closest with his NCAA success of back-to-back championship appearances and leading Clemson on a game winning touchdown drive to beat Alabama.

Trubisky had the good numbers in 2016 and decent mechanics, but only played 13 games. That's a caution sign to many teams as nobody has seen how he reacts when defenses start to pick up his tendencies.

Mahomes had the strongest arm of the class but looked like he was still a bit of a project before he could be ready to be an NFL starter.

Kizer has the most prototypical build of a quarterback with size, speed and arm strength, but is also a bit of a project with his mechanics buckling down at the wrong times.

All of the top four quarterbacks went early, Trubisky, Mahomes and Watson being as early as the top 12 picks in the draft. Kizer would go in the second round, followed by Davis Webb of California and C.J. Beathard of Iowa in the third round.

That made Dobbs the sixth quarterback selected in the draft, ironically in the same round, and exact same pick as the Cowboys selected Dak Prescott in the 2016 NFL draft.

Dobbs' ceiling is worth the fourth round investment. He has the arm to fit the Steelers' scheme of stretching the field with speedy receivers, as well as the mobility and good head on his shoulders to navigate an offense when the deep ball is taken away.

While the trait of a quarterback that can run is often characterized as player that only does so because he can't read the defense, that is absolutely not the case with Dobbs.

The Steelers selected a quarterback that was deemed to not be a definite franchise quarterback, like all of the quarterbacks selected before him, but to have a ceiling of a player that could be an NFL starter. Considering that they only spent their late fourth round pick on such a prospect is a win.

Let him learn behind Roethlisberger for a couple years and see how he does in training camp and preseason to determine if he can supplant Jones, as expected, for the backup role in the Steelers' depth chart. If he looks ready in a year or two, the Steelers may not have to invest a future first round pick to find Roethlisberger's replacement.

If not, the Steelers missing on a fourth round pick is something that isn't a death sentence, as the team knows from its fourth round pick of Jones in 2013 (not to mention Shamarko Thomas).

However, if Roethlisberger gets hurt and Dobbs ends up being half as productive as Prescott was for the Cowboys in 2016, the Steelers' premier offensive line, elite running back and supreme receiving corps may be enough for him to carry the offense.