It\u2019s easy to fall in love with college quarterbacks with just a handful of strong starts under their belt, but more often than not that leads to incomplete evaluations and regret. That\u2019s why Ty Simpson, who at one point looked like the best quarterback in college football last year, is tough to justify a first-round pick on. If experience is something the Pittsburgh Steelers place a high value on, Miami\u2019s Carson Beck checks a lot of boxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Steelers have little intention of taking a quarterback with their No. 1 pick because they don\u2019t believe there is a first-round quarterback after [Fernando] Mendoza,\u201d Gerry Dulac wrote via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/a>. \u201cBut one of the reasons they like Miami\u2019s Carson Beck is he has started 43 games, counting his time when he won a national title at Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n None of those 43 starts came during the Bulldogs\u2019 two National Championship runs, but he still managed to lead the SEC in completions and yards during his first season as a starter in 2023. And he finished with an impressive 37-6 record as a starting quarterback.<\/p>\n Bill Parcells famously laid out a list of rules aimed at maximizing the chances of hitting on a quarterback in the draft. Among some of the statistical goals, 30 or more starts and 23 or more wins were two of his requirements. Beck, who the Steelers had in for a pre-draft visit<\/a>, easily checks those two off the list.<\/p>\n Parcells\u2019 rules aren\u2019t bulletproof. Three of the best quarterbacks in the league at the moment wouldn\u2019t have made the cut if it were up to him. Patrick Mahomes had 29 starts, Joe Burrow 28, and Josh Allen 25. But for every one of them, there are two or three Anthony Richardsons, Zach Wilsons, J.J. McCarthys and Trey Lances as a counterpoint.<\/p>\n Experience isn\u2019t the end-all, but it cuts out a lot of the guesswork. And leaving anything up to chance and gambling with a first-round pick is not a winning strategy. Some teams will hit the jackpot, but most will find themselves set back a few years and looking for a quarterback once again.<\/p>\n Beck is one of the only options in this class that meet all of Parcells\u2019 criteria.<\/p>\n \u2013 Senior and three-year starter? Yep.<\/p>\n \u2013 College graduate? Yes.<\/p>\n \u2013 30 or more starts and 23 or more wins? Easily.<\/p>\n \u2013 60 percent completion rate and 2:1 TD-INT ratio? Check (69.5%, 88:32).<\/p>\n If you subscribe to the Parcells method, Beck covers all the bases. Keep in mind that Mike McCarthy is one of the oldest head coaches in the league. He was very much around when this rule was popularized. Amazingly, this is his first time with a chance to draft a quarterback for a team in need. Should it really be a surprise if he leans on a framework he came up around?<\/p>\n