No team goes into an NFL Draft hoping to get it wrong. They want every pick to hit and become a future Pro Football Hall of Fame member.
But when you're potentially selecting a quarterback in the first round of a draft, getting it right the first time has long-term effects on a roster that resonates, much like the Steelers' selection of Ben Roethlisberger in the first round of the 2004 draft.
Getting that right can allow a team to remain competitive for years to come, while getting it wrong can set the team back in much the same fashion.
That's why the 2022 NFL Draft, which begins Thursday night, will be such an important one for the Steelers. With Roethlisberger now retired after 18 seasons with the team, the Steelers find themselves perhaps being in the market for a position outgoing GM Kevin Colbert called "the most critical position in our sport."
That's why the Steelers spent so much time evaluating this year's quarterback draft class, starting with seeing each of the top players at the position several times during the last college season and running through having each of the top 6 players available in for a private visit in Pittsburgh.
"When you have a quarterback like Ben for that many years, you didn’t spend as much time with that position because you weren’t going to entertain it," Colbert said Monday during a pre-draft press conference with Mike Tomlin at Heinz Field. "We did spend more time on that position. And it was necessary.
"We have to get that right."
The Steelers signed former Bears starter Mitch Trubisky, the second-overall pick in the 2017 draft, in free agency. But that just sets the team up in a position, as Colbert said, where the team will be happy if it gets a quarterback early in this draft or doesn't get one.
The reality is that the Steelers won't be expecting that rookie quarterback -- whoever it might be -- to play this season. But the same was thought of Roethlisberger when the Steelers took him with the 11th pick in 2004.
He opened training camp as the No. 3 quarterback, but moved up to No. 2 when Charlie Batch was injured in the preseason. Then, two games into the season, Tommy Maddox also was injured, elevating Roethlisberger into a starting role.
The presence of Trubisky and Mason Rudolph leaves the Steelers with two veteran players with which to handle the position in 2022. But the Steelers also are concerned about the long-term.
"Could we add somebody? Yes," said Colbert, who will retire from his position following this draft. "Could we start the season without adding somebody? Yes. We’ll see where it goes."
The fact the Steelers have done as much homework and legwork as they have at the position has not gone unnoticed in league circles. It's generally assumed the Steelers will select a quarterback this year, much the same way it was assumed the team would take a running back last year, with Najee Harris being the prime candidate.
"The process we have been through has gained some attention,” Tomlin said. “But it’s not an irregular process for us in terms of locking in.”
• Asked what he thought was the most important attribute for a quarterback to possess, Tomlin initially said there are many.
But when pressed on the subject, Tomlin said that while the measurable attributes all are nice, there's one thing he looks for the most in a quarterback.
"I think that is the ultimate competitor’s position," Tomlin said. "So those that run to and not from competition, those that embrace competition and the intensity of it, and the anxiety maybe associated with it, I think they have a leg up. Obviously, there’s some pedigree-related things per the position: arm strength, accuracy, and so forth. But that’s evident. It’s either present or it’s not. The intangible quality associated with competition, I think, is something that’s valuable."
• At the NFL Meetings a few weeks ago, Colbert noted that the Steelers had 24 of their 25 starting spots -- including kicker, punter and long-snapper -- filled with a veteran starter. The lone exception was strong safety.
But the re-signing of strong safety Terrell Edmunds -- officially announced by the team Monday -- filled that spot, as well.
Colbert said the Steelers had stayed in contact with Edmunds throughout the free-agency process. He eventually re-signed with the Steelers on a one-year, $2.5-million deal that is very team friendly for a player who is a four-year starter.
"He gives us that 22nd starter, so to speak,” Colbert said. “We have NFL veteran starters at each position. The draft will provide competition for that."
• Tomlin was asked if the recent tragic death of quarterback Dwayne Haskins has affected the team's draft plans.
"In regards to Dwayne, our energies have been on paying proper respects and supporting his family," Tomlin said. "We haven't approached it from a business decision-making standpoint. We just feel like that's the appropriate mindset for us to have as we sit here today."
• Colbert was asked if the recent trend of wide receivers getting large contracts in both free agency, which forced the trade of stars such as Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill, makes selecting a player at that position more of a pressing need.
The obvious inference was in regard to the status of Diontae Johnson, who is entering the final season of his rookie contract with the team.
"I think that depth is undefined until they get to this level, and any position we desire to pay, we feel he better be a special player at his position and maybe exceed where he was drafted," Colbert said, tying that in to what is considered the depth of the wide receivers available in this draft.
"I think we can do that at any given position for that special player within that group."
Johnson finished last season with 107 receptions (fifth-most in the NFL) and 1,161 yards, which was 10th in the league.
• Colbert said the team's pro personnel people will begin reaching out to opposing teams Tuesday to gauge interest in moving up or down in the first round.
"You're always making those assessments," Colbert admitted.
But the cost is always a factor, though Colbert said the end result is really what tells the tale of the tape.
"We can always go back and say, you know what we gave up for Troy Polamalu? A three and a six to move up more spots than we gave up to move up for Santonio Holmes. We gave up a three and a four," Colbert said. "But in both of those endeavors, both those moves helped us win a Super Bowl. And that's where we never lock ourselves into ... the draft charts with the numbers and this is a good deal or not a good deal. I think you can determine all that only after the fact."
• Tomlin was again asked about the situation with Stephon Tuitt -- this time not by me -- and said Tuitt is doing "fine."
But he wouldn't elaborate or say if Tuitt has been attending the team's voluntary workouts, which entered their second week on Monday.
• Asked about the team's depth at running back, Tomlin mentioned Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland behind Najee Harris.
"They’ll define the competition," Tomlin said. "Maybe the competition’s here. Maybe it’s not here."
