With free agency largely complete and annual league meetings wrapped up, the NFL is turning the page to the next chapter of the offseason -- the draft.
For the Steelers and the rest of the league, that means digging in elbows-deep in 40-times, film work and pro days.
It also means assessing your own roster and figuring out your own needs. Over the next few weeks, we'll take a look in this series not only at the Steelers' roster at each position, but at the position group in the draft as a whole.
For the Steelers, we'll start with the quarterback position, one manned by Ben Roethlisberger the past 15 seasons.
Roethlisberger set team records with 452 completions, 675 passing attempts and 5,129 passing yards last season. All three also led the NFL in 2018. Unfortunately, Roethlisberger also led the league with 16 interceptions.
The interceptions were, in part, because the Steelers threw the ball so much. Roethlisberger's interception rate of 2.4 was actually less than he posted in the previous three seasons and was below his career rate of 2.7. But they seemed to come at inopportune times, and coupled with the team's lack of forced turnovers (15) led to the Steelers being minus in turnover ratio.
At 37, Roethlisberger doesn't seem to be slowing down in terms of his on-field play -- though he doesn't run quite as much as he used to -- but with the loss of Antonio Brown this offseason, adjustments will have to be made. The Steelers also continue to work on a new contract with their franchise quarterback that will allow him finish his career in Pittsburgh.
"It’s probably his last contract as an NFL player, so it’s significant," GM Kevin Colbert said last week. "It’s significant for us, especially since we’re in a different dynamic from a financial standpoint, as far as the cap, because we don’t have a couple players with us from before. So, we have to make sure it all makes sense. But it has to make sense from both sides, and that we’re comfortable. At some point we hope it does."
Since that's likely to happen and Roethlisberger has one year remaining on his current deal, the Steelers would appear to be set at the position. That's especially true considering they have used fourth- and third-round picks in 2017 and 2018 on Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph, respectively.
Those two will battle for the No. 2 spot behind Roethlisberger in training camp, with former Eastern Michigan quarterback Brogan Roback having been added as a camp arm.
So, because the Steelers are set at the quarterback position, that means fans don't have to pay much attention to it, right?
Well, not exactly.
As things currently stand, there will be three quarterbacks selected before the Steelers make their pick at No. 20 in the first round -- Kyler Murray of Oklahoma, Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State and Drew Lock of Missouri.
Murray and Haskins are widely considered top-10 prospects, which is where they will be selected. Lock, meanwhile, is rated a little lower overall, but because quarterbacks are often overdrafted, will likely be selected before the Steelers pick.
If another quarterback works his way into that conversation in a league starved for players at the position, the Steelers could benefit by having a higher-ranked player fall to them. And right now, it appears Duke's Daniel Jones could be that guy.
Jones had been considered a prospect who could go late in the first round or somewhere in the second a month ago, but a strong pro day has some talking that he could be selected somewhere in the teens, as the Broncos (10), Bengals (11), Dolphins (13), Redskins (15) and Giants (6 and 17) might be in the market for a quarterback.
If one of those teams feels Jones fits the bill as a franchise quarterback, the Steelers could reap the benefits.
The Senior Bowl MVP, Jones completed 60.5 percent of his passes last season for 2,674 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions. At 6-foot-6, 221 pounds, he also has good NFL size to go with three years of starting experience in David Cutcliffe's system at Duke.
While you'd like to see his completion percentage higher, his receivers dropped 38 passes last season, something that affected that number a great deal.
His toughness rates as a strong point. But it's hardly his lone excellent trait. He's shown to be accurate with an above average arm, as well.
"I think I have great instincts. I think that's a strength of mine," Jones said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Playing the position, playing quarterback, you have to make quick decisions. Often times, you're reacting to a situation and that's dependent on your instincts. I think playing three years, starting three years at Duke is something that helps create that instincts and experience, and I think I have that."
Jones is likely the only other quarterback who could be selected in the first round, but with the Steelers also owning four of the first 83 picks, every player selected at the position is another potential player who falls down the board.
North Carolina State's Ryan Finley and West Virginia's Will Grier are two other quarterbacks who could hear their names called in the first three rounds.
Grier began his career as a top recruit at Florida before being suspended by the NCAA for a year for PED use. He later transferred to WVU and threw for 7,354 yards, 71 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while completing 65.7 percent of his passes in Morgantown.
"You have to be accepting, but know that I’m a confident player," Grier said when asked about the suspension and transfer. "I’m confident in my abilities. I do things like this to show what I can do and I’m really just grateful for the opportunity. I wake up every day with great appreciation for life and appreciation to play this game. I’ve been through some adversity where I didn’t have football. Having it back gives you an appreciation for every snap you can take. I’m just blessed to have that opportunity."
LOLLEY'S VIEW
As stated in the story, the Steelers are rooting for Jones to be taken in the first 19 picks. That increases the chances a player they had ranked higher falls to them.
While a lot of people are fretting that Devin White or Devin Bush might not be available to the Steelers, if you listen to the chatter, there are at least 20 players going top 10 this year, including White and Bush. And we all know that can't be the case.
Could the Bengals actually be in the market for a quarterback? Absolutely.
They have come to the realization they have gone as far as they can with Andy Dalton. And with a new coaching staff in place for the first time in well over a decade, there is no loyalty to Dalton there.
He's also not due a big salary, making it easy for the team to cut bait with him. After all, he's only got two years remaining on his current contract.
