2013 NFL Draft: Are the Steelers targeting QB Tyler Bray?
By Matt Shetler
One thing is for sure and that’s the fact that when the 2013 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t be taking a quarterback on the first night.
But they could be targeting one earlier than possibly anyone expects.
Nov 24, 2012; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Tyler Bray (8) leaves the field after the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won by a score of 37 to 17. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
It’s been a long time since the Steelers have selected a quality quarterback in the draft as there really hasn’t been the need to do so, but times are changing and the need for a young backup who one day could emerge into a starter is now here.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Steelers are very much open to adding a quarterback. They even reportedly have one in mind — Tennessee’s Tyler Bray.
Last month I reported the Steelers wined and dined Bray and his family and looked at the possible fit for Bray in black-and-gold.
That fit could become a reality if Bray is available in the middle rounds as the Steelers view him as the best quarterback in the entire draft.
"“A lot of NFL teams, the Steelers included, think Bray is the most-talented quarterback in the draft,” Gerry Dulac writes."
However having said that, I think it is unlikely the Steelers wind up with Bray, only because some team could take a risk on him in the second or third rounds. Bray’s arm strength is as good as anyone in the draft.
It’s difficult to imagine the Steelers using a second-day pick early on a quarterback that projects as a long-term backup to Ben Roethlisberger for at least the next few years.
Personally I would like to see Bray become a Steeler, but not at the cost of a second-day pick given all of the other holes the Steelers have to address at the moment.
A more likely option is to target a signal caller in the seventh round as a project. I’m high on Miami of Ohio product in Zac Dysert, who the Steelers could take their time grooming as the backup position seems set at the moment with newly signed Bruce Gradkowski.
On a final note about the quarterback position, if the Steelers don’t elect to draft one this weekend, I would expect Charlie Batch to be re-signed as the team’s No. 3 quarterback.