Projections have the Steelers taking a QB in the 2025 NFL Draft, but not in Round 1
There is no doubt the most important position in professional sports is the quarterback position, and it would result in the hyper-focus on the quarterbacks entering the draft every year. The upcoming 2025 crop of quarterbacks certainly feels to be more comparable to the 2022 draft class than the 2024 class. Nonetheless, it is worth looking at where these quarterbacks might be drafted in the upcoming draft class.
For this exercise, Ben Solak of ESPN tried his hand at predicting which quarterbacks will go to which team, but also when. Take a look at his round-by-round projections below:
Round 1
No. 1: Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward, Miami
No. 3: New York Giants – Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Round 2
No. 33: Cleveland Browns – Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
No. 52: Seattle Seahawks – Tyler Shough, Louisville
Round 3
No. 83: Pittsburgh Steelers – Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Round 4
No. 131: New Orleans Saints – Kyle McCord, Syracuse
Round 5
None
Round 6
No. 187: Minnesota Vikings – Will Howard, Ohio State
No. 190: Los Angeles Rams – Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
No. 211: Dallas Cowboys – Quinn Ewers, Texas
Round 7
None
Unless the Steelers claim a 2nd Round draft pick at some point via trade, it seems hard to fathom the team would take a flier on a player like Milroe with their second pick in the draft process. On top of that, selecting Milroe would go against Art Rooney II’s thought process on having a back-up quarterback have a similar skill set to the starter, and that would hold true for both Mason Rudolph and/or Aaron Rodgers.
Nonetheless, here is what Solak had to said regarding his the thought process on the Milroe selection:
“First things first: The NFL invited Milroe to the draft in Green Bay, and he accepted. Typically, that sort of invite goes only to first-round picks. I’m leaving him on Day 2, where I think he makes sense as a developmental prospect with high-tier athletic traits. Milroe as a draft attendee reminds me of Malik Willis as a draft attendee. Yes, the traits might be first-round caliber, but the play isn’t there just yet.
“Pittsburgh’s brass met with Milroe before his pro day. On the one hand, the Steelers took a stab at a dual-threat quarterback with Justin Fields last season, so trying again with Milroe is intuitive. And if Aaron Rodgers is their stopgap starter for 2025, Milroe would have time to develop. On the other hand, Pittsburgh showed little interest in building an offense around Fields, as it only marginally included designed QB runs. Any team drafting Milroe — who ran a 4.4 at his pro day — needs to major in such a scheme. That’s how Milroe can keep an offense on track while his passing traits catch up.
“Milroe is a good enough runner that I could see him being a dangerous starter as early as Year 1, just for how electric he is as a scrambler and short-yardage player. But in order to have a rounded profile as a quarterback, he has to operate dramatically faster in the pocket. Thirty-seven percent of Milroe’s pass attempts were out in under 2.5 seconds last season, lowest of the major quarterbacks in this class. Milroe struggles to get to full-field reads in the pocket and will invite pressure so that he can break contain and get to an improvisational state, in which he is more comfortable.
“I’m not convinced the Steelers are the best schematic fit for Milroe, but in the construct of quarterback development, we tend to overweigh the scheme and underweigh the rest of the offensive roster. The Steelers have two good receivers in DK Metcalf and George Pickens, as well as a young and ascending offensive line. If the running game doesn’t take a step back without Najee Harris, Milroe would have the necessary infrastructure to develop whenever the reps come in Pittsburgh.”
Of course Steelers fans will have strong feelings about Milroe going to the Steelers in Round 3, but I have some skepticism regarding some of Solak’s predictions otherwise. It seems hard to believe players like Will Howard won’t be drafted until the 6th Round, especially after we saw lesser-than quarterbacks go higher in the 2022 draft.
With that said, Dart going in Round 2 seems more realistic than in Round 1, and I don’t think enough people are talking about Tyler Shough as a legitimate quarterback in this draft. Outside of age and injury history, Shough is a great prospect who, in this case, would be a good addition to the Seahawks offense.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below, and be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the offseason and the 2025 NFL Draft.
The QB rankings are very interesting to me. They seem to vary greatly depending on the ranker. Beyond Ward there doesn’t seem to be any kind of consensus where the rest fall.
Who will be the guy that becomes a real starter? Will any of them rise to that spot?
I might say even Ward might not be a franchise QB in the NFL.
Not a very strong class IMO
For sure not a slam dunk but I haven’t seen him ranked as anything but QB1 with this year’s group. I can’t think of many QB’s that were sure things. You know you like them and you hope transition Ben R wasn’t a sure thing. Big guy with a lot of traits but far from HOF Ben. So much of it seems to be landing spot. Is it the right coach with the right players around them etc. I would hate to have my career tied to drafting a for sure NFL QB1
If his projections are any good, I’d rather take a flyer on Howard in round 5 than Milroe in sound 3.
I mean, until we DO find a long-term answer at QB, I don’t have a huge issue with taking mid-round gambles. But I’m not a fan of using our second pick in the draft on a raw, unpolished prospect, regardless of how ‘athletic’ he is.
Too many other spaces need filled on this roster.
Besides, I’m still all in on doing whatever we have to to get Arch.
I’m with you on the Howard in the 5th over Milroe in the 3rd.
Milroe is a smart kid that’s not afraid of hard work, so I like taking a flier on him, but not with the third rounder. I’d rather get a DL, DB, or even RB at that spot and see if he’s still there in the 4th round.
Also, if they do take him they need to make a hell of a lot more of a commitment to building the offense around his current skill set than they did with Fields.
Out of the QBs in this class, Milroe is my guy. I think his tools are arguably the best in the class, and he’s a generational athlete at the position. But the thing that really sells me on him is his character. By all accounts, he’s an outstanding leader who players naturally gravitate toward, and his work ethic is off the charts. A guy with a skill set as raw as his needs to have those intangibles if he’s going to become a starter in the NFL—and he’s got every bit of what it takes to do so from that standpoint.
What’s not to love about a kid that got his degree with honors in three years while playing QB for a demanding program? He’s currently enrolled in the masters program for sports management, and has received numerous awards for academics. Smart is a huge component of the ideal QB profile for me, and he’s got that covered.
What I don’t love about Milroe is the tape he put down at Alabama. There were some flashes, but there were also enough duds that I’m not really sold he’s worth spending a first round pick on.I think we too often get enamored with a college player’s measurables and athletic potential, and don’t pay enough attention to what they’ve shown in actual games.