Mason Rudolph was the Starting QB for the Steelers

[Yo Tee]

As we all know by now, Ben Roethlisberger is out for the rest of the year. Which means, our 3rd round pick in the 2018 draft, Mason Rudolph is now the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many on this forum were baffled as to why we would draft a QB in the 3rd round 1 year after drafting a QB in the 4th round. (I believe I was the only one to support the pick, but that's besides the point)

It was clear that Josh Dobbs was not the one to take over when Ben retired or, more inevitably, gets injured. We needed another option, which is why we drafted Mason Rudolph in 2018. This is not only an opportunity for us as Steelers fans to see what we have in Mason Rudolph, which I was actually impressed by what we saw yesterday, and it's also an opportunity to see what kinda of player development Mike Tomlin can have for a young QB.

Here's what worries me, and it's got nothing to do with trusting whether Mason Rudolph can be a decent QB or not because what I saw from Rudolph yesterday gave me hope and what I've seen from him in college gave me the happiness I felt when we drafted him last year. What worries me is this: Tomlin inherited Ben. He wasn't part of his growth as a young QB and he wasn't part of the development process for Ben as a QB. But Tomlin was a part of the growth, or lack thereof, of Landry Jones, Dennis Dixon and Josh Dobbs. Not a very good track record as Jones is in the XFL, Dixon hasn't been on an active NFL roster since 2012 and Dobbs was replaceable enough that we traded him for a 5th. The Steelers tried to make Jones happen, but he just wasn't developing and improving enough to be the guy. Dixon was never given a chance and Dobbs just wasn't fitting very well, in my opinion, and I believe the Steelers thought so as well, hence why he's in Jacksonville now.

Can you imagine if we had not drafted Mason Rudolph? We would be trusting this offense with Joshua Dobbs, a guy who, including this preseason, has not looked comfortable in the pocket in his 3 years. This is the EXACT reason why we drafted Mason Rudolph. Ben has been injury prone for years and it's been well, well known that he does NOT have long left in the tank.

In closing, this is bittersweet. While I am excited for what Mason Rudolph can show us, I am not confident in our potential as of now. With the Ben injury and the Conner injury, things just look really rough right now. The rest of this season is just to get Mason comfortable as a starting QB because when Ben hangs up the cleats, which I believe now more than ever should be sooner rather than later, he will be the man under center.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I don't recall being for or against the pick...the question most seem to have is was this guy good enough to be the heir apparent?

With a full year and now two camps under his belt, he clearly showed what most people felt all along, he was more pro ready than Dobbs so investing the pick in Rudolph was in hindsight a good move whether he was going to be the back up all year or be forced to start some games.

The Steelers seem to think Ben will recover and return to his starting job...will that be next summer? Who knows. Right now Rudolph is the starter until further notice.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

All class

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I don't recall being for or against the pick...the question most seem to have is was this guy good enough to be the heir apparent?

With a full year and now two camps under his belt, he clearly showed what most people felt all along, he was more pro ready than Dobbs so investing the pick in Rudolph was in hindsight a good move whether he was going to be the back up all year or be forced to start some games.

The Steelers seem to think Ben will recover and return to his starting job...will that be next summer? Who knows. Right now Rudolph is the starter until further notice.

Context... Many of us didn't like the QB pick BECAUSE they completely ignored the most glaring weakness at ILB in that draft. But of course Terry conveniently forgets to mention that tidbit.

FWIW, here was my draft recap of that pick:

2018 Draft...way too early talk

3.76 - Mason Rudolph - QB, Oklahoma St
Very surprised that this kid was still available in the 3rd Rd. He was being projected as a fringe 1st Rd pick, but destined for the 2nd. And I was surprised to see how many people had him rated in their top 5 at the position. Some liked him better than Josh Allen. At this point Rudolph is going to push for the QB2. I would love it if they just dumped Landry Jones, but that's a dream I doubt will happen. Dobbs & Rudolph are the future of the backup position, but I have some faith that Rudolph can develop into a good starter. Doubt he'll ever turn into a franchise type QB, but we'll have to wait & see his development. FWIW I really thought they were going to draft Malik Jefferson here. Pretty disappointed they didn't. But getting a possible heir apparent is ok in my book. C+

 

[Superbelt]

I was cautiously optimistic.

I see it as we took a flyer on the QB that our new WR has a great raport with already. He's a tough player with a great arm.

A few years under Ben, if we're lucky we get a surprise. Otherwise, yeah go get that blue chipper.

 

[NFL-Solomon]

Beats … Kent Graham, Cliff Stoudt, Kordell Stewart, Bubby Brister, Landry Jones, Mike Kruczek, Mike Tomczak, Jim Miller, Mark Malone, David Woodley, Todd Blackledge, Scott Campbell, Dennis Dixon and Michael Vick.

 

[cincygrad]

I really liked Mason Rudolph when he came out. There were a number of reports linking the Bengals to Rudolph.... And the Bengals beat writer is still pushing the narrative that the Bengals wanted him before the Steelers were able to grab him. I think he's going to be good. It's unfair for anyone to have to be the guy following a HOF player, but that's his job now.

 

[Yo Tee]

Context... Many of us didn't like the QB pick BECAUSE they completely ignored the most glaring weakness at ILB in that draft. But of course Terry conveniently forgets to mention that tidbit.

I didn't conveniently forget it. I actually went back to the 2018 draft threat and saw lots of people complaining about how we should be planning to win now, not for the future. Imagine if we didn't plan for the future. We'd be stuck with Josh Dobbs, Landry Jones or some other guy we picked up from the 3rd string of another team.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I didn't conveniently forget it. I actually went back to the 2018 draft threat and saw lots of people complaining about how we should be planning to win now, not for the future. Imagine if we didn't plan for the future. We'd be stuck with Josh Dobbs, Landry Jones or some other guy we picked up from the 3rd string of another team.

I don't recall such things in regards to the Rudolph pick, but feel free to dig them up. I recall the Ben quote about him bein upset about the pick, to which I said he seemed insecure. But I think most people only said such things because of the fact they ignored their defense in that draft. I don't recall anyone burying the Rudolph pick.

 

[Yo Tee]

i dont love the rudolph pick , hes flawed.

malik jefferson was still there..................

Life after Ben... I’d rather plan to win another title or two with Ben. To each his own tho.

Rudolph...Lukewarm...Dobbs is a project, Landry is a cheap backup, but I think they get a little cheaper and maybe the potential heir apparent. What makes this pick lukewarm is the players they left on the board, but considering they moved up to get him, they got the guy they wanted.

we r taking future picks and not adressing the now with a team that needs to win now

why are we drafting future then if we have a small window for ben

IMHO and probably some others u throw the future oht the window for now, u win now, u worry about it latere u have a HOF qb for a few more years..........if you can win 1 superbowl i'll sacrifice for a rebuild

@FaCe-LeE-uS just for context.

The consensus last year was "why not draft to win now while we still have a HOF QB"? What most people on here failed to realize was the HOF QB we have is a shell of what he used to be. He's more mistake prone than he used to be, he's more injury prone than he used to be. Needed to make that pick in 2018 if Dobbs and Jones weren't the answer.

 

[SteelersPride]

@FaCe-LeE-uS just for context.

The consensus last year was "why not draft to win now while we still have a HOF QB"? What most people on here failed to realize was the HOF QB we have is a shell of what he used to be. He's more mistake prone than he used to be, he's more injury prone than he used to be.

Glad u came back terry. Right when things r crashing. Almost like it’s on purpose.

 

[Yo Tee]

Glad u came back terry. Right when things r crashing. Almost like it’s on purpose.

Not my fault you haven't noticed be elsewhere. I'm actually speaking positively about this team and how this is our chance to see what our future will hold with Mason Rudolph. Like I said, it's bittersweet, but it's time to see what life without Ben Roethlisberger will be like.

 

[SteelersPride]

Not my fault you haven't noticed be elsewhere. I'm actually speaking positively about this team and how this is our chance to see what our future will hold with Mason Rudolph.

It’s all good the time is now. The draft is loaded next year so if we need someone else now is the time

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

@FaCe-LeE-uS just for context.

The consensus last year was "why not draft to win now while we still have a HOF QB"? What most people on here failed to realize was the HOF QB we have is a shell of what he used to be. He's more mistake prone than he used to be, he's more injury prone than he used to be. Needed to make that pick in 2018 if Dobbs and Jones weren't the answer.

Thanks for the clarity. Didn't recall these posts. I wouldn't call it a consensus though. There were many of us that were "lukewarm" to the pick, but stated it was an upgrade at the backup position (in one way or another).

FWIW I refuse to believe that Ben was a shell of his former self. He just led the league in yards, posted his 2nd highest QBR, and 3rd highest completion % of his career. I know I'm cherry picking, and there were plenty of terrible plays/games from him last year, but he cleaned it up down the stretch and had a great year. He wasn't the reason this team went 9-6-1.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[thedddd]

Thanks for the clarity. Didn't recall these posts. I wouldn't call it a consensus though. There were many of us that were "lukewarm" to the pick, but stated it was an upgrade at the backup position (in one way or another).

FWIW I refuse to believe that Ben was a shell of his former self. He just led the league in yards, posted his 2nd highest QBR, and 3rd highest completion % of his career. I know I'm cherry picking, and there were plenty of terrible plays/games from him last year, but he cleaned it up down the stretch and had a great year. He wasn't the reason this team went 9-6-1.

Exactly. They were 9-6-1 due to the coaching staff and NO ILB's or quality safeties.

 

[Psych-Ward]

As we all know by now, Ben Roethlisberger is out for the rest of the year. Which means, our 3rd round pick in the 2018 draft, Mason Rudolph is now the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many on this forum were baffled as to why we would draft a QB in the 3rd round 1 year after drafting a QB in the 4th round. (I believe I was the only one to support the pick, but that's besides the point)

It was clear that Josh Dobbs was not the one to take over when Ben retired or, more inevitably, gets injured. We needed another option, which is why we drafted Mason Rudolph in 2018. This is not only an opportunity for us as Steelers fans to see what we have in Mason Rudolph, which I was actually impressed by what we saw yesterday, and it's also an opportunity to see what kinda of player development Mike Tomlin can have for a young QB.

Here's what worries me, and it's got nothing to do with trusting whether Mason Rudolph can be a decent QB or not because what I saw from Rudolph yesterday gave me hope and what I've seen from him in college gave me the happiness I felt when we drafted him last year. What worries me is this: Tomlin inherited Ben. He wasn't part of his growth as a young QB and he wasn't part of the development process for Ben as a QB. But Tomlin was a part of the growth, or lack thereof, of Landry Jones, Dennis Dixon and Josh Dobbs. Not a very good track record as Jones is in the XFL, Dixon hasn't been on an active NFL roster since 2012 and Dobbs was replaceable enough that we traded him for a 5th. The Steelers tried to make Jones happen, but he just wasn't developing and improving enough to be the guy. Dixon was never given a chance and Dobbs just wasn't fitting very well, in my opinion, and I believe the Steelers thought so as well, hence why he's in Jacksonville now.

Can you imagine if we had not drafted Mason Rudolph? We would be trusting this offense with Joshua Dobbs, a guy who, including this preseason, has not looked comfortable in the pocket in his 3 years. This is the EXACT reason why we drafted Mason Rudolph. Ben has been injury prone for years and it's been well, well known that he does NOT have long left in the tank.

In closing, this is bittersweet. While I am excited for what Mason Rudolph can show us, I am not confident in our potential as of now. With the Ben injury and the Conner injury, things just look really rough right now. The rest of this season is just to get Mason comfortable as a starting QB because when Ben hangs up the cleats, which I believe now more than ever should be sooner rather than later, he will be the man under center.

Could you imagine if you'd shut the fuck up and stop putting words in people's mouth.....
We 'the consensus' are not you at an all you can eat glory hole.

But same old shit stick, twisting things around to meet your sorry ass existence.

 

[Bridgeburner]

@FaCe-LeE-uS just for context.

The consensus last year was "why not draft to win now while we still have a HOF QB"? What most people on here failed to realize was the HOF QB we have is a shell of what he used to be. He's more mistake prone than he used to be, he's more injury prone than he used to be. Needed to make that pick in 2018 if Dobbs and Jones weren't the answer.

My daughter used to love the "told you sos". When she was 11.

It's always a fine line between drafting for the future and filling in the gaps to keep a window open but stop acting like the Rudolph pick was the right move. We don't know that yet. Lets hope that he is (I like what I've seen so far but lol, Minshew looked good week one too). And stop painting Ben as a has-been. He was as good as ever and might still be next year if he's able to come back. Ungrateful clowns like you will never appreciate what he's done or give him credit for what he's able to do.

 

[Bridgeburner]

And for the record I hated the pick. I also hated the Smith-Schuster and Watt picks and loved the Jarvis Jones and Bud Dupree picks. I think Terry Rode has finally uncovered the reason I don't work for the Steelers as a scout....

You've done us all a favor Terry. I think Superbelt was just about to write me a letter of recommendation too. Good thing you stopped him.

 

[Bridgeburner]

BUT...

The best knowledge bomb I've ever dropped here is without a doubt the whole "Conner is a bum! Pee-Rine was still on the board! What are they thinking??!??!"

So. I think I've redeemed myself.

My Q&A for the 2020 prospects will be held this April at the convention center. Seating is limited.