So, if you could trade JPJ and the 2027 first rounder

You don't know that lol you don't just draft guys off their college numbers alone, but for their ability to become an excellent player at the next level. There are a ton of guys that looked like sure-fire hits in college that were garbage pros, while guys who didn't look like "franchise" guys in college turned out to be exactly that in the NFL. Arch has been a starter in exactly one college season. He will have at least one more college season before declaring for the draft.

Also, there's no circus with the Manning's. This isn't a Deion Sanders thing.... Lots of NFL players had fathers that were players. It wouldn't be the first time, and it's not even like he's Peyton or Eli's kid.

I agree that franchise QB is harder to find than a lock down corner... though corner is still a high priority position. Only QB and Edge Rusher are more important IMO, and it is on par with LT and WR. I completely disagree that Porter isn't a top CB though. Just about every measurable metric proves that he is. He may never have the INT numbers that Pat Surtain II or Derek Stingley Jr. does, but in coverage his career is very comparable. He is excellent in not allowing completions, having a low QBR when targeted, and is elite at not allowing TD's. So what if he gets a couple extra flags a season? Pat Surtain II (probably my pick for the best corner in the league) has allowed 13 TD's in 5 years. JPJ has allowed 1 in 3 years. To me, the fact that he doesn't allow completions/pig plays/TD's offsets the lack of picks and higher than normal penalties. He also greatly improved his penalties in year 3, so he may (or may not be) progressing in that area.

I understand wanting high picks, but a really good player is always worth more than a really good pick. Its why guys like Sauce Gardner get traded for multiple first rounders, or Myles Garrett gets traded for a first, second, third, and a player that was a recent first round pick. The good player is ALWAYS worth more than a good pick. Roughly 20% of all first round picks end up an All Pro at some point in their career. We don't know if Porter would be an All Pro at some point or not, but as of right now an All Pro player would be better than JPJ. It is also true that roughly 50% of first round picks are busts or not worth their draft selection. You're willing to trade JPJ and his abilities for a 20% chance that we end up with a better player and a coin flip chance at a complete bust? That is wild, and the type of gambling logic that would make a GM have a very short career. I understand there is a limited amount of money for the roster, and I can be convinced of an argument that we could spend that money elsewhere to help the team... but to act like Porter isn't worth high end CB money is ridiculous. It is just something fans say as a coping mechanism if he ends up leaving, like "we don't need him". He is an excellent corner. He is absolutely worth more than $30m a year to play corner in the NFL in 2026. Whether or not the Steelers feel that spending $30m a year on Porter is what is best for the future of the team is irrelevant to that fact.

Who cares what we do with Howard and Allar if we pick Manning? We can do whatever we want with them... cut them, trade them, develop them... literally anything. My bet would be that we develop the one of the two we liked better and cut or trade the other one, but that is just me speculating. The real answer is that we don't HAVE to wait and see with either QB if we think a better chance at a franchise QB comes available to us on draft night. The FO's goal is to get the next franchise QB of this team. If they feel like spending capital on Arch Manning gives us the best shot at that, then by all means, do it. We'd feel real dumb if Manning turned into a really good player and we pulled the "wait and see" on Allar, only to find out he ain't it.

 

How many nights have you spent in @KnoxVegasSteel houe?

Asking for 3,547 friends

 

Thieneman is a safer bet to start from day one and to become a quality player. In fact, he is starting from day one for the Bears. In addition to a high floor, he also has a high ceiling. He plays a position of tremendous need for the Steelers. Terrible play by the safeties was a huge part of the problem on defense last year, and it is likely to be more of the same in 2026. Thieneman was also a more highly-rated player, consistently in the top 20 on pre-draft rankings. Iheanachor was projected at least 10 picks later in most rankings I saw.

 

You win by building up the trenches which is what they're doing, if they hit on Max and Dunker their OL could be set for their next franchise QB.

 

You win by building up the talent level of the entire team. That means taking value where you find it. The NFL is a passing league now. The secondary is more important than ever. Of course, the quarterback is the most important thing, but otherwise, some of these position biases just get in the way.

The Steelers have been making poor decisions that have weakened the talent level on this team for years. Tomlin was a big part of that, but he coached in a way that masked it by keeping them slightly above water and mostly in the playoffs. That thinking needs to stop, but it didn't in the draft and they are probably going to pay for it all season.

 

I think the Steelers need to go all in to trade up as high as they can in the 2027 draft. They're never going to be a serious SB contender until they get a franchise QB, and I don't care what they have to do to get one.

 

I am personally happy we found out that Drew Allar flamed out so bad the team needed to draft a QB in Round One of the 2027 NFL Mock Draft! For that matter, I didn't even know we are in the year 2027 until today!! How time flies!!

 

Hopefully Allar (or Howard) will be that guy, but unless Rodgers get injured this year we're not going have any idea how they'll do in regular season games. QB is still going to be the big question mark in 2027. If they can trade up to maybe draft a guy like Arch Manning or Dante Moore, I'd be all for it, even if it means giving up Joey Porter Jr.

 

It's unlikely for this to happen IMO.

1) We're building the team to try to stay in the Groundhog Day loop, so we'll start with a low-ish pick.
2) It's a good QB draft so the prices to trade up will be higher.
3) Other teams that need QBs are likely going to try to be bad so they can draft a QB (instead of bring back Rodgers to either just miss the playoffs or get in and get smoked in the WC game).

As long as the team philosophy stays the same, the way we get our next really good QB will probably be like the way we get Ben.

Have an unlucky down year right into the middle of a generationally good QB class. And still need a team like the Browns to be incredibly stupid.

So we'll probably pick up like the 4th or 5th best QB in a class and hope he can be good enough that he's not too heavy for the defense to carry. This is probably the plan for the two late round guys we already have on the team.

 

if Kenny Pickett had come out a year later, he would have been the 4th or 5th best QB in the class and our choice still would have been Kenny or not.

 

It will be a question mark; provided if Drew Allar or Will Howard regress horribly in practice. Not stating that practice determines how well a players career will go but one can learn a lot from players based on habits. For that matter, there is a massive misunderstanding about practice as a whole.


Practice doesn't build habits. Practice reveals habits.

 

If we pass on a guy who looks like a long time starter because of 3rd and 6th round picks we didn't trust enough to be backups this year, I think we should probably fire everyone in the front office.

Allar looked better than I thought he would. Howard looked worse than I'd hoped.

Neither looked good enough to be handed the starting job next year without competition from a potential franchise QB if we have the chance to get one.

Personally, I think we'll succeed in our intention to be a borderline playoff team again this year. So we probably won't have a great shot at a potential franchise QB from 20 or whatever.

And I think it will be hard to trade up in the 2027 draft if it actually pans out the way people think it will for QBs. And we could easily be talking about how 2028 is the REAL year for great rookie QBs. Just like how 2026 looked like it would be a good QB year in the 2025 draft.

 

I think this is conditional. The window of opportunity with this defense is pretty damn closed. We have a decent core for the next window nonetheless. I'm a firm believer in the QB being the final piece. I'd say look at the Bengals and Bills as Exhibit A/B for franchise QBs not completely guaranteeing SB wins. With that said, Franchise QBs are a heck of a lot harder to find than a All Pro level Edges and CBs. If we had an immediate SB window on the horizon I'd absolutely trade Watt or Porter Jr to get that QB. But considering that window is not on the horizon, I'm not trading either.

 

If the Steelers are picking at #20, they should be able to trade up to maybe the top 12 to get a QB.

 

Maybe...but the price will probably be higher if there's really a QB worth taking at that point in the draft. Because there should be more other teams looking to move up to the same spot.

 

Sure if you give two #1s plus

 

Have you seen the historically last 5 years of qbs taken in first round?
Bunch of duds
No to trading the only corner we have

 

Your missing the point.


Nobody knows how either Allar or Howard will look in 2027. Why?! We are not even done with 2026 much less close to Thanksgiving. Besides, even not accounting for that variable, the 2027 QB Class is a far ways away from being decided; a variable that would require its own assumptions.


In short?! Have to be patient with both Allar and Howard. The answer will come during next year's draft.

 

I understand the point you're trying to make. I just think you're wrong in your valuation of the hopes and dreams you have for Allar and Howard. Their value is very close to zero. Just like a lottery ticket. Maybe they end up being extremely valuable. But they are probably worth nothing (in a football sense, not a human sense). Because the probability of either of them becoming an above average long term starter is very low.

And even if they do pan out. Having more than one starting caliber QB on the team is a very good thing because you can flip one for many nice things.

But I think you're missing my point too.

We currently don't have a franchise QB. That means that if we think we have a chance to get one, we should take it.

Here's a story about what happens if you pass on a potential franchise QB and pretend that maybe one of the guys on your roster will work out.

Once upon a time, there was a team called the Cleveland Browns. They did not have a franchise QB. They wanted to see if one of Jeff Garcia, Tim Couch, or Kelly Holcomb could be an NFL starter. And they figured that drafting a guy who looked like a high quality TE would be just the thing to help those QBs succeed. This is a decision that Steelers fans should celebrate every year because it meant they drafted Kellen Winslow when Ben Roethlisber fell to them. Ben went 12-2-1 in CLE to remind them of their stupidity.

TLDR: Drafting KWIII instead of Ben when they knew they didn't have a medium to long term solution at QB was idiotic. We shouldn't follow that model

I doubt we'll have the opportunity to draft a high caliber QB in the next draft because we're actively trying to draft as low as we can. But if somehow the stars align and we pass up on the next Ben because we think maybe the 3rd or 6th round picks who couldn't unseat Mason this year becomes a long term starter in the NFL...we should fire everyone in the front office.

 

They're not going to get a presumed top 10 1st rounder from a presumed bad team, you're going to get one in the 20s in all likelyhood. IMO you do the deal with Porter.

 

And it still would have been a decent bet with what we knew at the time.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out.

It seems like no one can reliably predict whether or not college QBs will have success in the NFL.

 

I understood your point just fine. The team doesn't have a Franchise QB on the roster. That was already stated, by you, multiple times during this thread. The issue of having a Franchise QB is having the support system around him.


Even if he is fully ready, none of that matters if the team is close but not close enough. Buffalo is an excellent example of a team that has a legitimate Franchise QB but cannot get over the hump. Baltimore is yet another. Add in the likes of the LA Chargers.



A Franchise QB's success is tied directly to the situation he is in. Pittsburgh's situation is currently average at best; brightest spots being the Offensive Line. Until the rest resolves itself (or rather, until there is more info about the rest of the talent later in the season), Pittsburgh is still going to be short of a Super Bowl; presumed Franchise QB included.

 

All of these arguments would have been made by the Browns to support the pick of Winslow.

Do you think it was a good call with the information at the time? Not just based on the results...which clearly were terrible for the Browns.

 

Nope.


Your conflating Pittsburgh's current situation to the situations of Cleveland in the past. Two different things. As I said and will so again; patience.

 

So we can never test the assumptions you're making by looking back at similar situations in the past?

That's a good way to talk yourself into poor decisions.

Like the Browns did by not taking the potential franchise QB that fell to them when they hadn't had a good QB in forever (or since).