Former NFL defensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Marcus Spears thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers need to stop kicking the can down the road and finally get a franchise quarterback in this year's draft. The Steelers have been in quarterback purgatory since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season.
The Steelers missed on Kenny Pickett in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Pittsburgh has been paying for it ever since. All signs point to the Steelers running it back with 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers , which has Spears worried.
"There's a lot of glaring issues in Pittsburgh, but the one glaring issue that you cannot win without in this league, is high-level quarterback play. I'm not talking about competent quarterback play, I'm not talking about average quarterback play. You cannot win how the Steelers want to win without a high-level of quarterback play," Spears said on NFL Live . "They got to take swings at quarterbacks out of college and hope one of them can turn into their Dak Prescott ."
Spears thinks the Steelers should draft Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson regardless if Rodgers decides to return.
"Regardless, the reason they're picking number 21 is because Rodgers was there," Spears said.
CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson is hearing that Mike McCarthy and other Steelers decision-makers have taken a liking to Simpson .
"Steelers fans get very angry when you give them a quarterback, because Aaron Rodgers apparently is gonna play forever," Wilson said recently on CBS Sports HQ. "They wanna see what Will Howard can do. Will Howard was a sixth-round pick, so typically if your name isn't Tom Brady , sixth-round picks don't work out long-term.
"But I do know the Steelers like Ty Simpson , and the question becomes, 'Will they take him at 21?' Because I don't think he will be there when they get back on the clock in Round 2."
Former NFL executive and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick made a claim that will ruffle the feathers of the Will Howard fan club. He thinks Simpson is better than Howard, and it's not even close .
"I like Will Howard," Riddick said during a segment on NFL Live in February. "I don't like Will Howard as much as Ty Simpson. I don't even think they're in the same stratosphere as far as their ability to throw the football. Based upon how the latter half of his season went, which wasn't all on him, the guy is banged up, the offensive line is very inconsistent, the running game was non-existent, and the wide receiver corps is up and down from week to week.
"Then, he turns it around in the playoffs against Oklahoma and brings his team back from a 17-point deficit. He's tailor-made for Mike McCarthy's system, and Mike has coached some good quarterbacks. I don't think he's a reach at 21, and I do think he's gonna go before that."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : ESPN Analyst Explains Why Steelers Must Draft Ty Simpson
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