Let's get to it:
RICHARD SANTRY FROM ALLENDALE, NJ: Most mock drafts that I've seen have three quarterbacks getting picked No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 overall. Has that ever happened before? Secondly, has any other position, e.g., running back, ever ended up being the first three picks during a particular draft?
ANSWER: Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, there have been three occasions when the first three picks of a particular draft played the same position, and in each of those occasions that position was quarterback. In 1971, the first three picks were Jim Plunkett to New England, Archie Manning to New Orleans, and Dan Pastorini to the Houston Oilers; in 1999, the first three picks were Tim Couch to Cleveland, Donovan McNabb to Philadelphia, and Akili Smith to Cincinnati; and in 2021, the first three picks were Trevor Lawrence to Jacksonville, Zach Wilson to the New York Jets, and Trey Lance to San Francisco.
WILLIAM C. LANE FROM MYRTLE BEACH , SC: After all the trades that went on during free agency what picks do we have going into this year's draft? What are the Steelers' draft positions? Do we have a pick in every round?
ANSWER: Here is the breakdown of the picks the Steelers have in the 2024 NFL Draft as of this writing:
• FIRST ROUND – 20th pick in round (20th pick overall)
• SECOND ROUND –19th pick in round (51st pick overall)
• THIRD ROUND – 20th pick in round (84th pick overall)
• THIRD ROUND - 35th pick in round (98th pick overall), acquired from Philadelphia Eagles via Kenny Pickett trade
• FOURTH ROUND – 19th pick in round (119th pick overall)
• FIFTH ROUND – No pick (traded to Los Angeles Rams as part of the Kevin Dotson trade)
• SIXTH ROUND – 2nd pick in round (178th pick overall) acquired from Carolina in Diontae Johnson/Donte Jackson trade
• SIXTH ROUND - 19th pick in round (195th pick overall)
• SEVENTH ROUND – No pick (traded to Carolina Panthers as part of the Diontae Johnson/Donte Jackson trade)
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JAY GREENBERGER FROM VENICE, FL: With the addition of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at the quarterback position, do you anticipate the Steelers drafting a third quarterback should a decent one come available in the draft? They signed Mitch Trubisky in 2022, and everyone thought he would be the starter to be backed up by Mason Rudolph and Joshua Dobbs and then they unexpectedly drafted Kenny Pickett.
ANSWER: The Steelers will go to training camp in late July with 4 quarterbacks on their 90-man roster, and on March 25 General Manager Omar Khan told reporters at the Owners Meetings that the team had agreed to terms with quarterback Kyle Allen, 28, who entered the NFL with Carolina as an undrafted rookie in 2018. Allen (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) has had stints with the Panthers, Washington, Houston, and Buffalo. In 2019, Allen started 12 games for Carolina, and the Panthers were 5-7 in those starts. Allen completed 62 percent of his passes that season for 3,322 yards, with 17 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and a rating of 80.0. He was sacked 46 times. Since 2019, Allen started only 6 more games, and for his career he has completed 62.6 percent. For 4,734 yards, with 26 touchdowns, 21 interceptions, and a rating of 82.2. With those three quarterbacks on the roster, I would imagine the Steelers will get their fourth arm for training camp from the group of undrafted rookies.
TIM HIGGINS FROM COLUMBIA, SC: As the Steelers start to move toward 700 regular season wins in their history, behind only Green Bay, Chicago, and the New York Giants, all of which entered the league years before Art Rooney Sr.'s franchise did, there are some resources that show the total victories at 676, others tally 671. The difference seems to be the five wins that the 1943 "Steagles" put up. Apparently, those victories (and losses and one tie) were assigned to the Eagles franchise. Do we know how that decision occurred and who made it?
ANSWER: I will start with this: On Oct. 8, 2023, the Steelers recorded the 700th win in franchise history, which was a 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers now have 707 victories in franchise history – 671 during the regular season and 36 in the playoffs. The postseason counts in a franchise's all-time total. And for the record, the 1943 Steagles were the result of combining the Steelers and the Eagles rosters so that football could be continued during the height of World War II. That team was made up of both teams' rosters and it was co-coached by the respective head coaches – Walt Kiesling from the Steelers and Greasy Neale from the Eagles. Since both teams contributed equally to the team's 5-4-1 finish, why would the Eagles deserve the "credit" for the final record?
MARILYN BIRKNER GLEN BURNIE, MD: Who else was at running back when Le'Veon Bell held out the whole season?
ANSWER: Le'Veon Bell missed the entire 2018 season with his contract dispute, and with Bell a no-show second-year pro James Conner handled the bulk of the work at running back. Conner played 78 percent of the offensive snaps that season, and he finished with 973 yards rushing (4.5 average) and 12 touchdowns, plus 497 yards receiving (9.0 average) and 3 more touchdowns. He was voted to the Pro Bowl. Others on the depth chart were Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley, with Roosevelt Nix at fullback.
JAMIE ZIRKLE FROM WINCHESTER, VA: You had noted in the March 21 edition of Asked and Answered that there didn't seem to be a "need" at outside linebacker. My personal opinion on this is that we could certainly use a third edge rusher if T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith are down with injury.
ANSWER: The Steelers already have a No. 3 outside linebacker. His name is Nick Herbig, and he posted a solid rookie season.
TOM YESTER FROM BEAVER FALLS, PA: Considering Justin Fields' running ability, is there a chance that both quarterbacks could be on the field at the same time?
ANSWER: There is a difference between having a special package within the offense to try to take advantage of Justin Fields' skill-set, but in doing that it would make no sense to also have Russell Wilson on the field at the same time. Doing that would essentially have the Steelers playing with 10 men on offense when Fields was at quarterback.
JON VANLANDINGHAM FROM CALEDONIA, NY: In the March 21 installment of Asked and Answered, you wrote that the Steelers would have had to pay Patrick Peterson $9.78 million had they retained him this year, but by releasing him they're saving $6.85 million, which results in a dead cap hit this year of $2.93 million. If the Steelers were to resign him for that amount for this year (which I wouldn't expect him to sign for) would there be no additional cap hit?
ANSWER: When the Steelers cut Patrick Peterson, that closed the book on his existing contract, which as you noted will cost the Steelers $2.93 million in dead money on their salary cap. If the Steelers do re-sign Peterson, the contract that is negotiated and signed to complete that transaction will include its own unique salary cap hit. For example, if the sides subsequently come to agreement on a 1-year contract for $2 million, that contract would carry a $2 million cap charge that when added to the $2.93 million in dead money would mean the total cap cost for Peterson would be $4.93 million.
JENS HENSEL FROM STUTTGART, GERMANY: I have been a Steelers fan ever since I was a 9-year old in 1980. I missed their Super Bowl run during the 1970s but enjoyed prime Dan Marino at Pitt. Would the Steelers have been able to go through a similar evaluation process with Marino prior to the draft as they did with Kenny Pickett, or did the Steelers and Panthers have different training facilities back then?
ANSWER: Dan Marino's senior season at Pitt was in 1982, and at that time the Panthers played their home games at Pitt Stadium in the Oakland section of the city, while the Steelers played and practiced at Three Rivers Stadium on the North Side.
JULIAN LEGLER FROM PITTSBURGH, PA: Do you think the Steelers will trade up in the first round to possibly land a top 10 draft pick, like Joe Alt?
ANSWER: As I wrote in the March 19 installment of Asked and Answered concerning this exact question, "I'm not disputing the fact that Notre Dame's Joe Alt certainly looks like an elite prospect, but the situation in which the Steelers find themselves is one where they need all 7 of their picks in the upcoming draft because their roster needs a similar overall injection of talent like they added with their 2023 draft class. It's possible Alt could be the first non-quarterback selected on April 25, which could make him a top-5 pick. The Steelers have the 20th, 51st, 84th, 98th, and 119th overall picks in the upcoming draft, and it would behoove them to use each of those to add the kind of talent they secured in the picks of Broderick Jones, Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, Darnell Washington, and. Nick Herbig with their first five selections last year. That would be a far better use of their draft capital than packaging two picks to make one selection."
STEPHEN CUPRZYNSKI FROM COCKEYSVILLE, MD: Great to see all the positive action with the free agent signings. Hats off to the administration for the excitement. Can't wait for the draft. In your opinion, can the Steelers afford a top flight receiver and another stud offensive lineman?
ANSWER: In free agency? No. Wait for the draft.
DANIEL MAZENKO FROM LITITZ, PA: During this relatively quiet time in the football schedule, I have to resort to things like scrolling through lists of the greatest players to never win a Super Bowl to satisfy my need for football entertainment. Who would be your top five of Steelers from the Super Bowl era who never won the Super Bowl as a member of the Steelers?
ANSWER: You have to be one of the few Steelers fans to view such things as the re-making of the depth chart at quarterback – signing Russell Wilson, trading for Justin Fields, trading Kenny Pickett – and signing potentially the best inside linebacker the team has had since Ryan Shazier (Patrick Queen) and doing that by taking him away from the rival Ravens as a "relatively quiet time." But to each his own. I'm going to give you six names, they are in no particular order, and I came up with this list off the top of my head: Dermontti Dawson, Rod Woodson, Greg Lloyd, Louis Lipps, Tunch Ilkin, and Carnell Lake.
