(Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
Kevin Colbert said the Steelers are "wide open" in regards to what positions they'll select in the draft at yesterday's pre-draft press conference. Everything is on the table, even at quarterback, according to Colbert.
“Again, wide open to all of it,” Colbert said when asked about drafting a quarterback. “If you look at our current depth, obviously we have four NFL veteran quarterbacks on our roster, which I feel great about. We also have three of those four that are in the last year of their so-called deals, when you look at it realistically. So it’s an unusual group in that we do have four. Can you add a young one? Absolutely. We always have to be on the look for that next guy and try to predict the value of taking that player at that position because most likely a young quarterback won’t play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021.
“It goes all the way back to Ben (Roethlisberger). Ben wasn’t a sure pick when we were sitting there at 11 because we had more pressing issues than a quarterback because Tommy had done some good things for us. It wasn’t like we couldn’t have started a season with Tommy. When Ben was there for us, it would’ve been a huge mistake not to take him. So we’ll always be open to adding what we believe is the most critical position. But again, we feel good about having four vets to work with at this point.”
Interestingly, Mike Tomlin made it be known that the Steelers have quarterback Dwayne Haskins on their roster, who was selected at 15th overall by Washington just two years ago.
"It's exciting from a coaching perspective with one of those guys being a 22-year-old guy like Dwayne Haskins who was viewed globally as having first-round talent just a short time ago," Tomlin said. "We're excited about working with him and seeing what his skill set and hoping him improve is, as well."
Haskins has put up pedestrian numbers so far in his career, appearing in 16 career games and making 13 starts, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,804 yards with 12 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions.
Haskins had a ton of off-the-field issues in Washington and lacked maturity. Hopefully, he can revive his career under Tomlin in Pittsburgh. It appears that Tomlin is high on the upside of Haskins. It will ultimately be up to Haskins to turn his career around, however, and that starts with him not having off-the-field distractions and being more committed and accountable.