First Take said Steelers could have had LAMAR

Stepping away from all possible comments on that one. Fair enough. lol

 

I mean,

Jackson went at 32, using the Ravens 2nd 1st round pick as they traded back into round 1 to get him. So sine the Ravens passed on him with their other 1st round pick......essentially, 100% of the league passed on him at least once.

 

I could be mistaken but I have the feeling that Steelers could have every pick in the first round and still not get it right.

 

Yeah right.

 

Tomlin wanted Ben gone. Rooney said nah, I want him back another year.

 

Yeah, they could have picked Lamar and yeah, 31 other teams could have had him also. Both of those are nominally true, but I'm not sure how instructive.

The bigger storyline imo is that the Steelers did not make, or value, any meaningful plan to replace an aging Roethlisberger. While still putting up big absolute numbers his last season in the Top 10 in passer rating was 2014. It wasn't hard to see that we needed to start working on a heir apparent. Yet, the team from 2015-2021 spent only two picks on QB's, Josh Dobbs in the 4th in 2017 and Rudolph in the 3rd in 2018. That's not investing in an heir apparent, that getting a backup. Meanwhile they invested two 1st round picks in safeties in 2 out of three years; Edmunds in 2018 and Minkah by trading the 2020 first round pick for him. I'm sorry. You have an aging QB and you're spending way more draft capital on safeties than the QB position? That's just roster malfeasance.

Yeah, maybe they could have had Lamar or maybe they could have drafted Justin Jefferson and Jalen Hurts in 2020 instead trading the first for Minkah and using the second on Claypool. All of that is ifs and buts. What isn't is that they didn't value the QB position highly enough and I still don't think they do.

 

Lamar would have been traded at the end of his rookie contract as a bust if he came to the Steelers. A history of poor QB development, bad OCs, bad game plans and more supports me of that.

 

It definitely had a good possibility of failure tbh. The Ravens weren't afraid to change their entire offensive philosophy to cultivate and take advantage of Jacksons abilities.

I can't imagine Tomlin bending to anybody else that much.

 

The "Steelers way" does not include changing the mold. It only includes forcing the pieces into the mold.

 

Yep big mistake and Lamar is now showing it up to all teams that passed him up.

 

FIFY

 

Often there are posts stating we could have had ________, instead of _______. most often water under a bridge, because you really never know what a guy will do as a pro. This one still stings, local guy who had indirect connections with the Rooney family, someone with that much talent, we had Cliff Stoudt and Mark Malone. The D guy we took had talent and might have truly been a great, but passing on Marino had to be the biggest Steeler draft blunder since the NFL merger.

 

Some NFL correspondent was on Patrick recently and he said the Ravens had not had a pro bowl receiver until this year (Flowers). They may have had a former PB or even all pro guy via trade or signing, but were not in the years Lamar was playing. Guy could be wrong I did not check, but the point is as good as he has been, he has continually grown and has gotten better. Getting the correct players around him has made the team that much better. People can chide Lamar for his post season failures, and this game against the Bills is yet another prove it moment to test him, but you can't argue his winning record as a pro QB.

 

we traded a guy and 2 1st rounders for a guy named Earl Morrall, who won a couple of SB rings (and was integral) in starting 9 games for the perfect season for the Dolphins, yep we were a QB factory for future SB QB's for other teams, lol.

 

Taking Edwards over Lamar was such a gross, brain-dead move. And while you never know if a QB is going to work out or not... the fact that someone like Lamar was on the board when we were willing to settle for a DB that arguably could have been drafted in the 3rd rd... was disgraceful. As much as I dislike the Ravens... their FO had the sense to trade up and steal Lamar at the end of the 1st Rd and then pull in Derrick Henry this year. Steeler FO settle to much for mediocrity.

 

If Ben, in his later years, were given the kind of protection afforded to Brady... he had the ability to have the Steelers contending each year. He didn't and they couldn't.

 

Lucky for him. He don't want to play for the steelers ... the steelers don't even want to play for the steelers

 

Two time MVP Lamar no Super Bowl appearances

 

He wouldn't even sniffed the map status here. And neither do we in like 15yrs?!

 

neither did Manning or Elway until later in their years.

and we know many GREATS never did.....

i'd have Lamar in a SECOND

they have a CHANCE ever year he is healthy

we SUCK

 

Then go root for the Ravens since you're a Lamar fanboy

 

a
They would never have allowed him to play his game. He'd be s wideout here.

 

You are all alone on that “we”

 

I've shown people the post before. (I don't still have the link, but if you find the draft thread, you'll see it.) I have written many times since that I wanted Chubb or Leonard with that pick. I've never found the posts with Leonard, so I haven't backed that one up, but for those paying attention it has never been in doubt that I wanted them to take Chubb over Edmunds. Blast usually argues that it didn't make sense with Bell and Conner on the roster, but that's a different argument.