2018 NFL Mock Draft: Projecting every first round selection

“Maybe I don’t have it anymore” is not what any general manager wants to hear from this franchise quarterback. But that’s exactly what two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger told the media after an upset loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5. Ben has since admitted that he may have been overreacting and intends to come back next season, but the future at the quarterback position for the Pittsburgh Steelers still needs to be addressed.

Letting rookie quarterbacks sit for a season or two and learn has become a forgotten tradition. The Kansas City Chiefs gave first round pick Patrick Mahomes a year to study, and that same process that would work well for the Steelers.

Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph is a fringe first round prospect, but its more important that the Steelers get the right guy than the right “value”. Rudolph lit up the Big 12, throwing for 4,904 yards and 37 touchdowns in his senior season. In three seasons as the full-time starter he never threw double-digit interceptions.

Rudolph’s transition from a spread offense at Oklahoma State to a pro-style offense in Pittsburgh might take some getting used to, but it’s nothing he won’t be able to handle.