a QB?

Steelers trade up to 76 spot to pick Mason Rudolph. OSU.
The Steelers traded their 79 and 220 picks to move up to the 76th pick Seahawks.

Colbert liked him a lot but not at 28.

My guess is they were worried the Bengals would take him with the two picks before ours so we moved up.

The first round pick and 3B are the ones I don't like. But estatic we got Washington and Rudolph.

I didn't expect a QB at all. I don't know anything about him and his college career but doesn't sound bad reading this at NFL.com:

Quote :

Winner of the 2017 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, Rudolph is ranked No. 37 on NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock's list of the top 100 players in the draft.

At nearly 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, he offers prototypical size for a pocket passer. He's also the best deep-ball thrower in this year's class, per Mayock. On the flip side, Rudolph struggles to escape pressure and was often targeting wide-open receivers in the Cowboys' remedial offense.

"He reminded me of Matt Ryan," one scout told BobMcGinnFootball.com. "He's calm, cool, collected, accurate. He's faster than Ryan. Pocket passer. High three-quarters delivery. Excellent deep-ball accuracy. Good enough athlete. Not a runner. People are down on him but all he does for four years is win."

The Steelers will reunite Rudolph with his favorite college receiver, James Washington, who was drafted in the second round:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000929640/article/mason-rudolph-drafted-no-76-overall-by-steelers

Going 3 of 4 offensive picks in round 1-3 is really shocking considering their defensive needs. The WR pick is extra and one for one for Bryant, but it really seemed the other 2 picks would have been defensive.

I'm excited about this pick. Rudolph has the talent to be really good. Lots of upside.

Wallace108 wrote:

I'm excited about this pick. Rudolph has the talent to be really good. Lots of upside.

Agreed. This draft has to have had one of the most unexpected outcomes in all the years I've followed the Steelers but I like who they got. It is cool to have the possible future in place learning under a HOF QB.

NFL.com has the Steelers 'Winners' in their Winners Losers article:

Quote :

Winners
Mason Rudolph, QB, Steelers: While Rudolph surely would have loved to have gone in the first round, the Oklahoma State product might be better off having fallen to Pittsburgh at No. 76 overall. Learning behind Ben Roethlisberger and being surrounded by all the Steelers talent sets up Rudolph to succeed. He could wind up playing sooner than expected, considering Big Ben hasn't played a full season since 2014.

The Steelers also drafted Rudolph's college teammate, wide receiver James Washington, late in the second round. Based on general manager Kevin Colbert's track record, it's only a matter of time before Washington is torching NFL defenses. In a few years, he might be doing it with Rudolph.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000929709/article/winners-and-losers-from-rounds-2-3-of-the-2018-nfl-draft

"He reminded me of Matt Ryan," one scout told BobMcGinnFootball.com. "He's calm, cool, collected, accurate. He's faster than Ryan. Pocket passer. High three-quarters delivery. Excellent deep-ball accuracy. Good enough athlete. Not a runner. People are down on him but all he does for four years is win."

https://nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000929640/article/mason-rudolph-drafted-no-76-overall-by-steelers?

Wallace108 wrote:

"He reminded me of Matt Ryan," one scout told BobMcGinnFootball.com. "He's calm, cool, collected, accurate. He's faster than Ryan. Pocket passer. High three-quarters delivery. Excellent deep-ball accuracy. Good enough athlete. Not a runner. People are down on him but all he does for four years is win."

https://nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000929640/article/mason-rudolph-drafted-no-76-overall-by-steelers?

Yeah, definitely really like the way he sounds. I wonder who goes now at QB? They kept 4 QBs in the 90's when they had O'Donnel, Tomczak, Miller, and Stewart. It doesn't seem like they'd do that now. Jones is the the only one with NFL game experience, Dobbs just drafted last year. I guess we'll see.

LambertWardSteel wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

"He reminded me of Matt Ryan," one scout told BobMcGinnFootball.com. "He's calm, cool, collected, accurate. He's faster than Ryan. Pocket passer. High three-quarters delivery. Excellent deep-ball accuracy. Good enough athlete. Not a runner. People are down on him but all he does for four years is win."

https://nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000929640/article/mason-rudolph-drafted-no-76-overall-by-steelers?

Yeah, definitely really like the way he sounds. I wonder who goes now at QB? They kept 4 QBs in the 90's when they had O'Donnel, Tomczak, Miller, and Stewart. It doesn't seem like they'd do that now. Jones is the the only one with NFL game experience, Dobbs just drafted last year. I guess we'll see.

I think that only happened because Stewart really wasn't like keeping a #4 QB, it was keeping a #2 WR/RB who could also serve as the emergency QB. Nobody on the roster for QB right now has the kind of athleticism Stewart had.

I like this pick. When there's a chance that you can find the replacement of your franchise QB who's about to retire in a couple of years, you have to pull the trigger. Jones and Dobbs will battle for the third spot in preseason.

I don't like the Okorafor pick at all. First, we should have gone defense. We really need another LB or are they that satisfied with Edmunds and Burnett playing ILB too? And on top of that I don't like the kid. Since last year it was all about hearts and smarts, but in college he didn't show any heart. He's physically gifted, but has big bust potential because he lacks character. There were better linemen available.

Rudolph makes sense since they drafted his #1 receiver.

Hi everyone.

Long time , no time.


I like the pics so far.... really would like to add Griffin on day 3.. .meanwhile here's hopefully a glimpse into the future from Rudolph to Washington !
https://youtu.be/az_pvRSElI8

An interesting interview with Rudolph before the draft, first 4 minutes of the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=246&v=N90tt75-Ylc

He's going to play with a chip on his shoulders. His answer on the question why five qb's where drafted in the first round and he was overlooked in the discussions: "It will stick with me every minute, every hour until the day I die."

I like it

steelstoned1972 wrote:

Hi everyone.  

Long time , no time.


I like the pics so far.... really would like to add Griffin on day 3.. .meanwhile here's hopefully a glimpse into the future from Rudolph to Washington !
https://youtu.be/az_pvRSElI8

One thing I noticed in that video is that on nearly every deep throw, he hit Washington in stride. I've read that he throws a great deep ball, and it's evident in that video.

Fichtner gets to install his offense with Ben as the starter Mason learning as a back up. this is great for a young QB to learn a new OC offense from the beginning and for a new OC to install his new offense with a future QB already on the roster. this could be a seamless change from a retiring QB to the future QB.

steelstoned1972 wrote:

Hi everyone.  

Long time , no time.


I like the pics so far.... really would like to add Griffin on day 3.. .meanwhile here's hopefully a glimpse into the future from Rudolph to Washington !
https://youtu.be/az_pvRSElI8

I'm sorry was that the Mason Randolph or James Washington highlight reel? Damn this kids got a strong arm. And Washington can catch.

It was titled all touchdowns from Rudolph to Washington..

So I guess both lol.

Yes I definitely like the way he drops the ball in the bucket on his deep ball.... sure sometimes Washington had to adjust but that's why you have Playmakers it's not like we haven't seen Ben under throw or throw a tight window and allow the receiver to make a catch ..that's what makes a wide receiver and quarterback tandems special..

I've read all about the knocks on the kid but he had the highest passer rating on third down and I do believe he was second with pressure in his face... and he was one of only two quarterbacks to meet the seven criteria that Bill Parcells considers essential to a franchise quarterback being successful.

As for Washington I like that he's a thick strong bodied receiver and even though he's not tall he's got very long arms. he makes adjustments to the ball and makes those combat catches .in addition he's able to break tackles with his running back like body and take a short pass to the end zone.

Plus.... the Steelers seem to do very well with players who have chips on their shoulders and feel they have been passed over ..think about Antonio Brown and Leveon Bell I'm not saying Rudolph is going to be as good as those guys but that's an intangible factor that seems to thrive on Steeler selections not taken round 1..

http://www.thestate.com/sports/nfl/article209419819.html


Seems like a high character kid as well.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2769972-theres-a-lot-more-to-nfl-draft-prospect-mason-rudolph-than-a-strong-right-arm.

And maybe it's just me but the way he moves in the pocket and some of his pump fakes and nuances remind me of Big Ben... his deep ball reminds me of Brady for the most part he drops it in.

I know he's not a perfect quarterback prospect but I like what he does well.
https://youtu.be/JIyn5788CRM

I'm really liking the fact they got the 2 of them more and more but especially Rudolph and they have a QB to get ready behind Ben. Ed Bouchette posted this last night about Steelers drafting QBs rounds 3 or higher:

Quote :

Over past 38 years, Steelers drafted 5 QBS in rounds 3 or higher. All became their starters: Mark Malone, Bubby Brister, Neil O’Donnell, Kordell Stewart, Ben Roethlisberger. Will Mason Rudolph make it 6 for 6?

steelstoned1972 wrote:

And maybe it's just me but the way he moves in the pocket and some of his pump fakes and nuances remind me of Big Ben..

It's not just you. When the Steelers first showed interest in him, I watched some videos and I immediately saw some similarities to Ben. I forget who it was, but I also heard an analyst compare him to Ben yesterday.

Here's what Mason said earlier this year about who he compares himself to ...

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Peyton Manning, obviously. He’s not playing currently anymore, but being able to meet him at his Camp three years in a row and spend some time with him and Eli and Archie was priceless experience. I’ve always said Peyton and Ben (Roethlisberger), Big Ben, watching the way that he stands in the pocket and delivers the ball, continues to just evade the rush time and time again. So I would say those two guys.”

I hope it works out because all I know cuz I had to wait a long time from Bradshaw to Ben.

don't forget other QBs got drafted much higher then Mason but Mason should be very happy that he got drafted by the Steelers who have the best offensive team talent then the teams that drafted the other QBs in this draft.

all Mason needs to do now is study work hard and take in what coaches are coaching. I have watch OSU game and like their type of spread offense and the way Mason sees all the field and ran the offense.

imo L. Jones maybe the odd QB out and the Steelers go with the young ones because of contracts Dobbs signed through 2020 Rudolph signed through 2021 Over The Cap has Jones signed through 2018 at $ 1.9 million.

Quote :

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State and the embrace of ‘basketball on grass’

Enter Dana Holgorsen.
One of the first branches off of the air-raid tree — he played receiver for air raid father Hal Mumme and godfather Mike Leach at Iowa Wesleyan in the early-1990s — Holgorsen came to Stillwater from Houston, tasked with marrying air-raid principles to a Pat Jones core.
It worked well enough that Holgorsen was named West Virginia head coach a year later.

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/10/19/16432444/mike-gundy-oklahoma-state-football-offense

I like this offense it's a spread but it's still grounded in tried and true real world football that a offense still has to have a good running game

I'm biased on this pick because I saw Rudolph play in high school and have been a fan ever since. He played for a high school in Rock Hill S.C. and they came up to Charlotte to play our Catholic High team. Sorry to tell the doubters, but this kid is awesome. I laugh when I hear that he doesn't escape pressure well. The tape certainly shows he moves around the pocket very well and will scramble out of the pocket if needed. The impressive thing about Rudolph is that as he's moving around, he never stops looking down field.  He's big and his arm is strong. He throws a very accurate deep ball.

Welcome to the Steelers, Mason!