On Saturday, Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline released some rumors ahead of this Thursday’s 2022 NFL Draft. Pauline writes that the league believes Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis and one of Desmond Ridder or Matt Corral will be selected in Thursday’s first round. He also lists the Steelers along with the New Orleans Saints as a “safe bet” to take a quarterback in the first round.
Given that nine of the 23 players the Steelers met on Zoom or in person were quarterbacks, it’s no surprise that sentiment is growing in the league that Pittsburgh will pick a quarterback in the first round. Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert also both competed in the Pro Day of Malik Willis at Liberty, Ridder at Cincinnati, Pickett at Pitt and Corral at Ole Miss. Colbert was also in Chapel Hill to see Sam Howell’s Pro Day in North Carolina. History shows that the Steelers’ first-round pick will come from a Pro Day that Tomlin or Colbert attended, giving further credence to the idea that Pittsburgh will pick a first-round quarterback.
Aside from Pittsburgh and New Orleans likely picking a quarterback, Pauline thinks the Seattle Seahawks could go for a quarterback in the first round. Seattle holds the ninth overall pick, but according to Pauline, league insiders believe Team Northern Iowa OT will select Trevor Penning. The Carolina Panthers, who many expected to be looking for a quarterback in the draft, are said to be interested in an offensive tackle in Mississippi State against Charles Cross. Pauline writes:
“Cross is the top offensive tackle on some boards in the league, and many teams rate it ahead of Evan Neal. No one I’ve spoken to expects Cross to get past the Carolina Panthers in 6th place, which I reported last month.”
With Carolina Cross taking over and Seattle Penning taking over, the next possible spot for a quarterback would probably be the 11th pick Washington Commanders.
New Orleans is one of the teams Pauline thinks will pick a quarterback, which could make for an interesting situation in Pittsburgh. The Saints hold the 16th and 19th picks in the first round, while Pittsburgh hold the 20th pick. It’s possible Pittsburgh are trying to get ahead of New Orleans to ensure they get their quarterback of the future. However, with two first-round picks this year, New Orleans has more ammunition to potentially move up into the top ten to pick its future signal caller. If no quarterback makes the top ten, there’s a chance a player like Kenny Pickett could be available for Pittsburgh if they stay in 20th place.
If Pittsburgh elects against a first-round quarterback, Pauline notes that Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton could potentially move to the No. 15 No. could fall. 20 range. While Pittsburgh is on the low end of that range and extremely unlikely to drop to No. 20, it’s something that might need to be monitored. Pittsburgh met with Hamilton during a preliminary draft visit on April 19.