(Photo via Karl Roser of Steelers.com)
Reports out of Steelers' training camp indicate that Dwayne Haskins has drastically outperformed Mason Rudolph. However, tomorrow night in the Hall of Fame Game will be the first true test for Haskins to show that he's capable of being the No. 2 quarterback.
Mike Tomlin said yesterday during his press conference that Rudolph will start the game and Haskins will finish the second half and play into the third quarter.
Haskins has reportedly looked impressive during two-minute drills at training camp and has been consistently productive, which was a major issue during his two-year stint in Washington.
"Haskins has been surprisingly good," Mark Kaboly of The Athletic wrote. "He hasn’t had a day yet where he has shown some of the issues that popped up in Washington the last two years. He’s the Steelers’ best play-action passer and his accuracy and decision-making have been good."
Haskins was asked after yesterday's practice if he felt like he's in competition for the No. 2 quarterback position with Rudolph, and the former 15th overall pick didn't hesitate in his response.
“I plan on making it one,” he said.
Haskins also said that he always felt like he had the potential to become the next franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh.
“I felt like that the first day I got here,” Haskins said. “I’ve been told certain things. That’s between me and the coaches. I just have to go out there and prove I can play.”
Tomlin was impressed with Haskins during the draft process in 2019, and really was the main reason that Haskins landed in Pittsburgh, And so far, Tomlin has been impressed with the trajectory of Haskins.
“He’s grown by leaps and bounds,” Tomlin said. “He does a good job of communicating with coaches, with players, gaining an understanding of what we’re trying to do schematically and his role in it, gaining a rapport with the receivers specifically, trying to do the things that we want him to do in the drill work that we do. We’ve made an emphasis that drill work is football-like, but not necessarily football, and so we have certain things that we emphasize under those circumstances. I think he’s done a nice job of that. I think a lot of guys have.”
Steelers Nation and the rest of the world will see if Haskins is ready to make that next step in his career tomorrow night when the Steelers play the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game.