Despite ‘feeling good’ about Steelers’ QBs, Kevin Colbert won’t rule out drafting one
While he reiterated the Pittsburgh Steelers “felt good” about Ben Roethlisberger’s health and expressed satisfaction in Mason Rudolph as a backup, general manager Kevin Colbert did not rule out selecting another quarterback in the NFL draft later this week.
“If any pick makes sense at any time, then of course we’ll make those picks,” Colbert said during a video call with media Monday.
The Steelers have five quarterbacks on their offseason roster. Three started games for them last season — Roethlisberger, Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. Former Denver Broncos first-round pick Paxton Lynch was signed in September, and former Ohio State star J.T. Barrett was added during Week 17.
Roethlisberger, 38, was limited to six quarters in 2019 and had surgery on his throwing elbow in September. Rudolph went 5-3 in his starts and played parts of two other games. An undrafted rookie from Samford, Hodges went 3-3 as a starter and had a win of relief.
Colbert did not mention Hodges when discussing the Steelers’ quarterback depth and the possibility of adding to it.
“You feel good about No. 7, Ben, coming back,” Colbert said. “We know what we have in Mason. And, you know, we’ll see where we go. But we will be prepared for (a potential pick at) any position regardless of who we have on or current team.”
The Steelers do not have a first-round pick. Some mock drafts from across the internet have speculated they might look at someone such as Jalen Hurts at No. 49 overall, or another quarterback in the mid- to late rounds.
“We evaluate the whole board by position, to properly (rank) it,” Colbert said. “So, we have a good feel for these guys. And there are several players in the group (of draft-eligible quarterbacks) who are going to be future starters, possible Pro Bowlers, and there’s some nice backups.”
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.