The Steelers haven’t taken a quarterback since drafting Dennis Dixon in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, but their streak of quarterback-less drafts could end this week.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert broke with recent trends and said the team was open to the possibility of drafting a quarterback at some point during the 2013 draft. Per Dulac, the team isn’t interested in finding someone with the intention of grooming a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger in the near future but could find a developmental prospect to develop over several years while Roethlisberger remains in charge of things on offense.
According to the report, the Steelers believe Tyler Bray of Tennessee is the most talented quarterback in this year’s class. The strong-armed early entry isn’t ready to play right now, although his potential may still push him into the second day of the draft and Dulac believes that’s earlier than the Steelers might like to pick a player with no immediate chance to play. E.J. Manuel of Florida State and Zac Dysert of Roethlisberger’s alma mater Miami of Ohio are also mentioned as quarterbacks who have caught the team’s eye over the last few months.
With Bruce Gradkowski signed to be a backup and John Parker Wilson also on the roster, the selection of a quarterback would likely bring an end to Charlie Batch’s run with the Steelers. That would make for quite a change in the “back in my day” stories told during position meetings since the quarterbacks mentioned above were just a couple of years out of diapers when Batch was getting ready for his own draft day.
Source: PFT.com
Author: Josh Alper
Photo: Jason Bridge US Presswire
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