Finding Ben's successor to groom for the 2020 season.

Ben's contract expires in 2020, so the Steelers are going to need to have his successor in place by then, which means they should start looking in the 2017 draft.

The 2017 draft is going to be chock full of really good QB talent, and from the looks of things, so is the 2018 draft.

I've had my eye on 11 college QB's this year, some will be available in 2017, and a few in 2018.

I'm watching - when I can:

Kelly - ole miss [Jim Kelly's nephew]
Falk - Washington State
Ward - Houston
Mayfield - Oklahoma
Watson - Clemson
Mahomes - Texas Tech
Rypien - Boise [Mark Rypiens kin]
Kaaya - Miami
Jackson - Louisville
Rudolph - Oklahoma State
Russell - Baylor

Out of all these guys, I like Mayfield, Watson, and Kelly as my top 3.
Watson and Mayfield are going to go maybe 1,2 in the 17 draft, so that makes Kelly probably available.

If the Steelers can't land Kelly, they should wait and try for one of the others on the list.

Or wait until 2018 or 2019 and try for Rypien or Jackson.

The only guy I have eliminated from the list so far is Kaaya at Miami.

The point is that if Ben and Tomlin call it a day by 2020, the Steelers should have plenty of opportunities to find their next career QB.

By then, Cowher should be itching to get back in the game, and maybe looking for a team to coach for about 7 to 10 years. Wouldn't that be something?

 

Thanks for the list Guru I think it is important to find the Heir apparent
also. so Ben can mentor. I like the kid from Northwestern and Turbiskey from NC.
There are more out there, our scouts have to find them and evaluate them. See traits
I will be looking for in Bill Nunn draft room. I don't think # 7 will make it to 2020

 

I disagree that Ben won't make it till 2020. But yes I feel this is the year that they need to seriously consider the heir apparent and get him groomed and ready to take snaps at #2 then move right in when Ben's days are over. The Landry Jones experiment is over.

 

Experiments can become costly and this was definitely a fail.

 

I think Ben can do 3 more years because he isn't gimpy and limping yet, but his knees took so much punishment that I think 2017, 2019, and 2019 is gonna be all he can take.
Steelers have to find their guy this year or next and give him a year or two to get him ready to step in, then they have to have a capable backup in place too.
They are going to need to find 2 good QB's in the next 3 years.
I like the way colleges are getting guys ready by playing pro sets and throwing the ball more and more. It's definitely paying off because I like about 20 QBs this year, and usually I only like a few.
This Jackson kid at Louisville can really light up the scoreboard, he is a average passer though, but he looks like he is getting better each game.He should be ready to come out after the 2018 season, but he will probably go real high.
I expect the same thing from Rypien at Boise.

The Steelers best chance to find Ben's replacement is this year, if they can't get Kelly, then Mahomes, Ward, Falk,Rudolph and Russell could be had. Maybe Falk will go a pick or two before the Steelers pick.

If they don't find and groom Ben's replacement this draft or next, then 2020 to 2030 or beyond could be nightmare years as a Steeler fan.

Either way, I see Tomlin hanging them up when Ben does, because Tomlin will have about 15 years in as head coach, and I can't see him going through years and years of hell because he doesn't have a QB.

If Tomlin hangs em up by 2020, Cowher will have had a 15 year break, and I can see him wanting to come back for about 5 to 7 years. He is close enough to the game that he could jump right in and be good.
But surely he would like to have a young QB that he can work with.

 

There is a good chance that Ben might not even meet his heir apparent assuming he is still playing by then.


At this rate... it seems after this season that 2019 will be his final year given the years of damage his body has taken. Even if he does meet his heir, Pittsburgh will likely have a plan in place for whoever that person is...... and I imagine Le'Veon Bell has something to do with it.

 

LJ is the 40th ranked QB this year after his one game. 32 are starters. 60.4 completion percentage. just sayin, i don;t think the experiment is over and doing that badly. we were in the game against arguably the best team in the league. a terrible holding call against us made this an even closer game don;t forget and two missed FG's.

 

i thought he would go to NC STATE

 

Ward is 5'11 you can cross him off the list, I know Russell Wilson is also the same height but Ward isn't a good passer like Wilson. I don't like Kelly, too much of a gunslinger and a turnover machine. The Steelers have no shot at a guy like Watson, Mayfield isn't a first round pick IMO he's undersized. It's difficult to project these college QBs to the NFL because of the offenses they play in college.

 

I watch Kelly all the time. he can make all the throws but I worry about some of his decision making. mahomes is intriguing to me. I wonder if he is a product of system

 

With Chad Kelly's knee injury, we will not know how he will recover. Some guys have problems recovering from such injuries. I think we should not go for the higher QB's unless they're available to us, depending on our draft number by the end of the season. This QB class looks good. They remind me of Jared Goff and Paxton Lynch. They're still learning the offense and not ready to a start right away. We could develop them like Aaron Rodgers. Favre played while Rodgers waited. Ben plays while (.....) waits.

Also, with this article: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/r...-quit-football-after-his-last-game-in-philly/ Brett Keisel needs to be thanked for saving his career (if you read the article). But, that happened in 2008.

I do think that he should stick it out until 2019 and then retire. By being more careful with his playing style, he should be able to make it. His toughness is in a rare form. Although, he should wait until he's fully recovered before returning to the field. The last times he played while being injured, we lost. I heard we're now 2-6 while he played injured. Which now brings up the backup QB conversation. We should get a good backup that is good enough to do the job, but not replace Ben.

This reminds me of the Brock Osweiler situation when Manning got hurt, but they stuck to Manning in the end. It resulted in a SB win for Denver, thanks a lot to their defense.

Did I just predict that Ben will retire with another SB win? Only time will tell...

 

western and central mich. qbs maybe? right back to the mac. anyone familiar with these guys?

my pick so far would be reddick from temple to sure up the lb corps.

 

I could see this very easily even if it were next year.

 

Lamar Jackson is the most talented football player i have seen in a long time I've been watching football since the early 70's he is the only player i have ever seen who can plant a foot at full speed change direction and gain speed that should not be physically possible but he can do that after Petrino coaches him up for another year he will be better and he is already unstoppable. He is incredible to watch it looks like 11 kids trying to catch a deer.

 

Enormous talent at the WR position.

 

They say 2018 is a better QB class. Maybe its better to focus on that

 

There is one answer. And he reminds me of Ben which is what I want. Steelers need to do what it takes to get USC quarterback Sam Darnold. To me he's as close to Ben as you will get and it's obviously vital to have a franchise QB to win the Super Bowl. Gonna be hard to replace Ben but this in my opinion would be a Ben clone. STUD, great arm, bigger type guy, can run it, tough.

 

You're absolutely right. Everyone still 'S on Landry, but he has been fairly good as a back up the past two seasons. Won us a few games (one without either Bell or Brown). Now I wouldn't go breaking the bank on the kid, but as a hold over until we're ready to draft the next starter in Pittsburgh... I'd feel comfortable with Landry as the back up. Maybe a 3 year deal with a QB being drafted the year before it expires?

 

I've only watched a few Louisville games, but he is a very similar athlete to Michael Vick. I think Vick may have been a touch faster and had a bigger arm, but Jackson sure has a lot of raw talent. Idk if we will go that route, but if we think he could be an NFL passed I don't see why we wouldn't be interested

 

Just one mans opinion but i doubt Lamar lasts in the league because he will be beat down and injured like RGIII.