In 2024, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson to be the team’s starter and traded for former first-round pick Justin Fields to be their backup.
Both quarterbacks started games throughout the year, with Wilson leading Pittsburgh to a 6-6 record in his 12 starts (including the playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens) and Fields bringing the team to a 4-2 record in his six.
This offseason, both Wilson and Fields have signed with New York teams (the Giants and Jets, respectively) in free agency, leaving the Steelers with Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson as their only quarterbacks on the roster.
While there’s plenty of talk about Aaron Rodgers signing with Pittsburgh, the upcoming 2025 NFL draft may be their best chance to add a franchise quarterback to start for the foreseeable future.
FOX Sport’s Ralph Vacchiano recently produced a mock draft with the interesting wrinkle that every team had to trade their first-round pick and move around. In this exercise, Vacchiano had the Steelers sending their pick (No. 21 overall) to the Houston Texans (who take Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden) and going down to No. 25.
With their newly acquired pick, Vacchiano projects that the Steelers would take Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.
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Dart, 21, played high school football at Corner Canyon in Draper, Utah, before committing to USC for the 2021 season and then transferring to Ole Miss for his final three collegiate seasons.
With the Rebels, Dart completed 65.7% of his passes for 10,617 yards, 72 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,498 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 2024, he earned First-team All-SEC honors.
Dart’s not really seen as a franchise quarterback right now, but if the Steelers do bring in a guy like Rodgers for a year or two, the rookie could sit in a learn for a bit from one of the greatest throwers in NFL history.
He’ll also have DK Metcalf and George Pickens as his primary wide receivers, which should be one of the better duos in the league, as well as Mike Tomlin coaching him up. There are much worse situations for rookie quarterbacks to enter.
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