Even if Aaron Rodgers comes back, the Pittsburgh Steelers will only have three quarterbacks on their roster. That, plus their massive 12-pick arsenal, makes some think they’ll take a quarterback during the draft next weekend. If they do, Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson has a pretty clear idea of which type of quarterback that will be.
“Spent time with people in the front office there for a couple years now. Talked to people in the front office. I cannot tell you how much they complained about the limited athletic profile of Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, who they had and tried to make a starter,” Robinson said Wednesday on the Inside Coverage podcast. “I’m sorry, it pushes me off of Ty Simpson for the Steelers.
“Maybe they address it later in the draft. I just don’t think they go for the shortish, kind of limited profile player they’ve had before. They do not want another Pickett, Trubisky, someone who’s like, ‘Oh, we’ll deal with the limitations of this player’. I don’t think they want that at quarterback anymore.”
Several of the Steelers’ past starting quarterbacks have certainly been limited. Kenny Pickett was the one they hoped would develop into a franchise quarterback after selecting him with the 20th overall pick in 2022. That clearly didn’t work out, and Pickett had limitations as a prospect.
Since then, the word “limited” can describe the rest of the Steelers’ recent starting quarterbacks. Justin Fields and Russell Wilson were mostly steady in 2024, but neither were capable of taking the Steelers anywhere special. And while Aaron Rodgers was solid in 2025, his physical limitations were on full display in late-season losses to Cleveland and Houston.
This year, the Steelers have mentioned a desire for an AFC North type of quarterback. Mike McCarthy and Omar Khan have hinted at such throughout the offseason. And in the four they brought in for pre-draft visits, the signs are there. Drew Allar and Cole Payton are both bigger quarterbacks with intriguing arm talent and the physicality needed for the AFC North.
Taylen Green’s build isn’t the same as those two, but he brings a ton of athleticism, something Robinson hints the Steelers may be coveting. And finally with Carson Beck, his 6-4 height and 10-inch hands help him fit the AFC North mold a bit as well.
If Robinson’s right, that could work against some other quarterbacks in the draft. He specifically mentions Ty Simpson, who is inexperienced and is shorter with smaller hands. Garrett Nussmeier is in the same boat physically, and neither were brought in by Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers have no chance of taking those two. You never know how the board will shake out, and with several quarterbacks projected to go toward the middle of the draft, who knows what order that might come in.
But Robinson, who says he’s heard plenty of complaints from the Steelers’ front office about their recent quarterbacks, thinks they’ll want to avoid drafting another physically limited prospect this year.