As the NFL Draft approaches, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a familiar, uncomfortable position: desperately searching for a franchise quarterback. Speculation has reached a fever pitch, with rumors swirling that the front office might consider a bold move to secure their signal-caller of the future.
However, a stark warning from longtime Steelers reporter and analyst Christopher Carter has poured cold water on these aspirations, significantly complicating an already murky evaluation process.
Steelers QB Search: A Harsh Dose of Reality
In a recent episode of his podcast, “Locked on Steelers,” Carter took aim at some of the most highly debated prospects, saving his sharpest critique for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
While some evaluators have viewed Simpson as a raw, intriguing developmental prospect with a lot of potential upside, Carter’s assessment is unequivocally blunt. For a Steelers team looking for a definitive answer under center, taking a gamble on the Alabama product is a risk Carter strongly advises against.
“I’m not picking Ty Simpson with a second-round pick,” Carter stated firmly. “I’m sorry. Ty Simpson ain’t it.”
Simpson’s lack of experience is a concern for many analysts, given that he was only a starter for one season. That one season earned him a PFSN CFB QB Impact metric score of 85.4, ranking him 25th for last season out of all college signal-callers.
This harsh evaluation underscores a broader issue with the current crop of draft-eligible quarterbacks: the perceived steep drop-off after the elite top tier. That’s why one caller asked Carter whether the Steelers might give up significant draft capital to move up to No. 9, a pick currently held by the Chiefs.
Addressing the rumored trade-up scenario directly, Carter was completely dismissive of the strategy. “Going for their quarterback at No. 9,” he noted skeptically. “There’s no quarterback that I’m picking at No. 9.”
According to Carter, the only quarterback worth the risk lies at the very top of the draft board in standout prospect Fernando Mendoza. Unfortunately for the Steelers, acquiring a talent of Mendoza’s caliber borders on a pipe dream due to the sheer cost of doing business.
“Fernando Mendoza is going first overall,” Carter predicted. He emphasized that finding a reliable cornerstone requires paying a premium that Pittsburgh might not be able to realistically afford. “The only way the Steelers getting a quarterback in my eyes, that is a true franchise number one quarterback prospect, is that is by trading everything they got to go get Fernando Mendoza.”
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Sacrificing a massive haul of future picks and foundational players to move up to the No. 1 overall spot is a strategy few general managers are willing to execute. Carter himself acknowledges the extreme improbability of such a blockbuster deal coming to fruition, concluding, “And I just don’t think that that’s going to happen.”
With Mendoza practically out of reach, Pittsburgh’s front office is left to navigate a treacherous offseason, deciding whether to mortgage its future for a sure thing or face another year of painful uncertainty at the sport’s most critical position.
