Positional preview: A new era at quarterback

Thanks to the work done by Omar Khan and the front office during the offseason, the Steelers have a roster that has at least a puncher's chance in a loaded AFC North. But they'll still need to see improvement under center to have a legitimate chance to finally end an all-too-lengthy playoff victory drought.

Welcome to the first edition of our 2024 positional preview, in which we will break down the roster to get you ready for that wonderful first training camp practice at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.

Throughout this series, we'll take a look back at how each position fared in 2023, how that position was addressed in the offseason and wrap up with how it looks heading into 2024. Of course, the roster can still go through changes between now and when it's cut to 53 players. But, this will offer an understanding of how the team is shaping up.

We're starting with quarterback because, well, it's obviously the most important position. And, in order to succeed in today's NFL, the quarterback has to be productive and efficient.

2023 IN REVIEW

Coming off an optimistic finish to the 2022 season, Kenny Pickett had the opportunity to solidify himself as the next franchise quarterback. Unlike his rookie season, Pickett went through the motions of the offseason, training camp and preseason as the undoubted No. 1. And, after guiding the starting offense to touchdowns in all five drives in the preseason, anticipation soared for both Pickett and the offense.

The bubble quickly burst as the Steelers were pummeled by the eventual NFC champion 49ers in the opener, in which Pickett looked much more like a rattled rookie rather than the cool, calm and collected guy who helped commandeer five perfect drives in the preseason. The struggles continued the next week at home against the Browns, in which a 71-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens was the lone bright spot, and the defense scored two touchdowns to help secure a much needed victory to avoid an 0-2 start.

Pickett looked much better in Week 3 against the Raiders, completing 16 of 28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. It was an encouraging performance in which Pickett displayed accuracy and decisiveness. However, as it was throughout the season, Pickett could never maintain consistency. The following week in Houston, Pickett's same issues in the pocket came back to haunt him and it nearly got him injured for the remainder of the season, barely avoiding a serious knee injury:

As he did after he earned the starting job as a rookie, Pickett became very good at protecting the football. After throwing four interceptions in the first four weeks of the season, Pickett didn't throw another interception for the rest of the season. 

But while Pickett was very good at not turning the ball over, he hardly moved the needle in terms of scoring. Throughout that same stretch of no interceptions, Pickett threw only two touchdown passes. Even in his best performance as a professional against the Bengals, in which he completed 24 of 33 passes for 278 yards, he didn't throw a touchdown pass and the offense mustered only 16 points.

That performance in Cincinnati was part of the first game after Mike Tomlin fired Matt Canada, so it left many wondering if Pickett's issues were mainly due to Canada and his highly criticized system. However, Pickett consistently had issues that weren't on the offensive coordinator, including shaky poise in the pocket and far too many misses on plays that were there for the taking:

All Pickett has to do here is lead Pickens down the field and all he has to do is beat the lone safety for a touchdown.

Some of those same issues popped up the week that followed the strong performance in Cincinnati. Just puzzling mistakes such as missing wide open checkdowns on short-yardage situations:

In that game against the Cardinals, Pickett suffered an ankle injury that was going to sideline him for multiple weeks. Tomlin turned to Mitch Trubisky, but that didn't even last two games beyond an embarrassing loss to Arizona. Trubisky was anything but good in another embarrassing loss at home to the Patriots, and was even worse when the Steelers traveled to Indianapolis and were crushed by the Colts, 30-13. In those two starts, Trubisky completed 65.5% of his passes, but threw only two touchdowns and three painful interceptions.

At the tail end of the loss to the Colts, Tomlin benched Trubisky in favor of Mason Rudolph, who would be given the start at home against the Bengals, two days before Christmas and with the reeling 7-7 Steelers needing to somehow win their final three games to stay eligible for a playoff berth. 

Rudolph sparked the offense with his first pass:

He played with poise from the pocket and executed plays within the structure of the offense, showing what this group was capable of, even with an interim coordinator and playcaller. He led the Steelers to a 34-11 trouncing of the Bengals, forcing Tomlin to stick with him for a critical trip to Seattle, even though Pickett was nearing a potential return. Rudolph put up another solid performance, completing 18 of 24 passes for 274 yards. While it was a similar output as Pickett had earlier in the season against the Bengals (no interceptions, but no touchdowns), Rudolph led the offense to score 30 points in a crucial win over the Seahawks.

At that point, Tomlin was forced to ride the hot hand and stuck with Rudolph, even after Pickett had been cleared. In the season finale, Rudolph completed 18 of 20 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown in a torrential downpour against the Ravens, leading Pittsburgh to a victory in a must-win scenario. The Steelers clinched a playoff berth, further solidifying Rudolph as the new starter.

The Rudolph magic came to an end in a 14-point loss in Buffalo, though Rudolph's performance was hardly one of the main reasons why Pittsburgh was once again sent packing in the first round of the playoffs.

THE OFFSEASON

Despite being benched in favor of Rudolph down the stretch, the Steelers initially planned for Pickett to be the starting quarterback in 2024. But, more importantly, Art Rooney II was clear that the team needed better quarterback play in 2024.

"In terms of the next step," Rooney told select reporters in January regarding 2024 and beyond, "we need to make sure we do everything we can to get quality play out of our quarterback position going forward."

Tomlin, Rooney and Omar Khan each were clear that Pickett would be facing some sort of competition. Though none of them admitted as such -- the opposite, actually -- their trust in Pickett sure seemed to be shaken. Otherwise, why bring in competition for Pickett?

The search started with a desire to reunite with Rudolph, who was bound for unrestricted free agency. However, those talks never produced anything close to a reunion. The Steelers continued to survey their options, both via free agency and trades. This put the Steelers at the heart of rumors for every available quarterback, most often with Chicago's Justin Fields.

However, after the Broncos willingly swallowed tens of millions of dollars in cap space to cut Russell Wilson, the Steelers immediately became interested in the former Super Bowl champion quarterback. And, it didn't take long for the two sides to iron out a one-year contract for the veteran minimum, which is only $1.21 million.

Though many saw signing Wilson as the end of the Pickett era in Pittsburgh, the Steelers had every intention of having Wilson and Pickett duke it out during training camp, backing up their promise of competition for Pickett. However, Pickett did not share the Steelers' vision and requested a trade. The Steelers acquiesced and sent him to Philadelphia along with a 2024 fourth-round pick (120th overall) in exchange for two 2025 seventh-round picks and the Eagles' 2024 third-round pick (98th overall). The Steelers wound up selecting linebacker Payton Wilson out of N.C. State with that 98th overall pick.

The rumors connecting the Steelers to Fields earlier in the offseason wound up to be true as Khan initially had talks with the Bears several weeks prior to the Steelers signing Wilson and trading Pickett. When Pickett asked for a trade, Khan reignited those talks with Chicago and the Steelers wound up acquiring Fields in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025.

The Steelers added Kyle Allen to the mix via free agency during the NFL annual meeting in late March, adding a veteran to the mix behind Wilson and Fields.

One thing that was clear for the Steelers is they wanted more out of the quarterback position moving forward, especially since the position had produced only 25 touchdown passes in the past two seasons combined. That wound up as a complete overhaul of the position.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2024

It's difficult to project exactly what might happen in 2024. Not only has the quarterback position been completely overhauled, the Steelers are implementing an entire new offense with former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as the new offensive coordinator.

One sure thing to expect is that Wilson, as described by both Tomlin and Smith, has been given "pole position" to be the starter. That means Wilson is the de facto No. 1 guy on the depth chart to start things off when training camp opens. Fields is considered competition for Wilson, but this isn't your typical quarterback competition. Wilson has a distinct advantage over Fields.

Wilson's fit in Smith's offense is a bit peculiar. Wilson certainly has traits that align with what Smith likes to do, including his mobility, efficiency throwing out of play-action and the ability to throw the ball deep:

The numbers back up Wilson's ability to be most dangerous when throwing deep, and Smith wants to attack defenses down the field. Last season in Denver, Wilson posted a 112.5 passer rating when throwing 20-plus yards down the field, which included six touchdown passes to only one interception. 20 of his 23 completions downfield were considered big time throws by Pro Football Focus. Wilson also ranked 11th among qualifying passers in big-time throw percentage and also had the 11th-best percentage in turnover worthy plays when throwing deep. Not quite as elite as he used to be, but still an efficient and productive deep-ball passer.

Wilson's also very efficient out of play-action. When passing off play-action in 2023, Wilson posted 117.2 passer rating, completing 67.6% of his passes for 10 touchdowns and only one interception, while averaging 7.45 yards per attempt. His average depth of target on play-action was 9.3 yards, which is exactly two yards more than when Wilson was throwing without play-action. This fits very well with what Smith wants to do out of play-action.

However, Smith also loves to attack the middle of the field, as he did as offensive coordinator in Tennessee and as head coach in Atlanta. Conversely, Wilson does not like utilizing the middle of the field and hasn't for a long time:

PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS

Even last season, Wilson only had 78 passing attempts over the middle. For context, only five quarterbacks that made at least 10 starts had fewer attempts to the middle of the field. This raises some serious questions and concerns over how Wilson can execute Smith's vision for using the middle of the field, which can also impact the usage of tight ends such as Pat Freiermuth who can take chunks out of defenses down the seam.

Regarding Fields, there's no doubt that his ceiling is very high. He's obviously a superb athlete and runner, which always stresses defenses. In 2022, Fields racked up a whopping 1,143 rushing yards and led qualifying rushers with 7.1 yards per carry. 

But Fields also has plenty of arm talent, especially when throwing the deep ball. The numbers back that up, too. In 2023, Fields posted a 114.6 passer rating when throwing the ball 20-plus yards downfield, which included 18 big time throws to only one turnover worthy play, according to Pro Football Focus. Eight of Fields' 16 touchdown passes in 2023 came on these deep throws. As we've already established, Smith likes quarterbacks to throw the ball deep, as it plays off the running game, which is expected to be the strength of the offense.

What Fields needs to prove is his ability to play more efficiently and consistently within the structure of the offense, as Rudolph did for the Steelers last season. Everyone knows Fields can improvise and make throws outside the pocket or tuck it and run. But, Fields has to be able to make necessary reads and throws within the structure of the offense in order to reach another level. Otherwise, he'll likely remain inconsistent and prone to lots of turnovers. And, it's absolutely worth noting that Fields has turned the ball over 41 times in his first three NFL seasons.

Overall, the quarterback room does seem to be in better shape than it was when it was Pickett, Rudolph and Trubisky. Wilson and Fields are certainly not void of concerns, but the overall floor should be higher. Even in a season in which he was highly criticized both on and off the field, Wilson still completed 66.4% of his passes for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Even that kind of production is a step up from the overall body of work from the last trio of Steelers quarterbacks.

The best case scenario for the Steelers is for Fields to break out under Smith. The kid has superstar traits. He has enough talent to be one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL. But, there are a lot of boxes to check before Fields can realize that potential. Fields is only 25 years old. Should he get a chance to prove himself and figure things out, the Steelers could have their next franchise quarterback.

For now, Fields has to beat Wilson for the starting job. That all starts in training camp.

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

• Starter: Russell Wilson
• Backup: Justin Fields
• Third-string: Kyle Allen

As previously mentioned, Wilson has "pole position" to be the starter. Until he loses that position, this is the projected depth chart. Fields will be waiting in the wings, possibly pushing Wilson for that spot atop the depth chart this summer. But, for now, Wilson is the guy.

2024 STEELERS POSITIONAL PREVIEW SERIES

• Quarterback (duh, you're here)

And coming soon ...

• Running back (next week)
• Wide receiver/tight End 
• Offensive line 
• Defensive line/edge rusher 
• Inside linebacker 
• Secondary 
• Special teams