The Pittsburgh Steelers can’t hide their need for a franchise quarterback. Since the final years of Ben Roethlisberger, this team has been desperate for a long-term option. Instead, they have streamed quarterbacks from all walks of life—most recently Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

We know that swapping one underwhelming veteran signal-caller for the next won’t lead to lasting success and eventually the front office is going to take a swing. That could come as soon as the 2025 NFL Draft.

The latest rumor from Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan suggests that Steelers scouts ‘love’ Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and they belive he is a first-round talent. Fillipponi notes that Mike Tomlin will get a look at Milroe at the 2025 Senior Bowl.

“Source: There are Steelers scouts who “love” Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Fillipponi explained on X. “Believe he’s a 1st round talent. And potential franchise quarterback. Mike Tomlin will see him next week at the Senior Bowl. Stay tuned.”

In an underwhelming quarterback class, the decision to select the third-best QB of the group with the 21st overall pick in the draft would be met with backlash.

Steelers can’t draft a quarterback for the sake of it

Steelers fans still have nightmares about the catastrophe that was Kenny Pickett in 2022. After Ben Roethlisberger officially hung up his cleats following the 2021 season, team president Art Rooney II—along with Tomlin and former general manger Kevin Colbert—made it very clear that Pittsburgh needed to draft a quarterback.

The only problem was that 2022 was a terrible year to land a franchise QB. My top quarterback in 2022 didn’t even crack the top 40 players of the class, so taking one in the first round simply for the sake of taking one proved to be a disastrous option. Pickett didn’t have the tools desired and quickly failed in Pittsburgh.

I recently wrote about why drafting Jalen Milroe is wild enough that it just might work… but that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice. Milroe has a powerful frame and can whip the ball down the field, but his outstanding running ability is what really makes him intruiging.

However, Alabama underperformed with Milroe at the helm and the fourth-year senior threw for just 2,844 yards in 13 games to go with an underwhelming 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2024—not exactly a season that screams ‘first-round pick.’

While the Steelers would be taking a stab at a long-term fix, this isn’t the year to do it. After the Pickett catastrophe, the last thing fans want this team to do is to pigeonhole themselves into taking another signal-caller in Round 1. I’m all for finding the next franchise QB, but this would be a poor philosophy.