Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert famously (maybe infamously?) said that the organization had a 1st round grade on Mason Rudolph when they chose him at 76 overall in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Former Steelers front office executive and former Bills general manager Doug Whaley joined The Fan Morning Show Wednesday in his new weekly "Wednesday's with Whaley" spot from 9-10 am. He asked directly what grade he and the Buffalo Bills had on Rudolph coming out of the draft.
"We had a 3rd round grade on him. Where he went.
For us, we always struggled with guys coming out of those systems," said Whaley. "Besides Mahomes, there's no one that's really stepped up and performed at a high level in the NFL coming out of that spread system in the Big 12. It's hard."
"A lot of the time, they'll sit there and say, 'What do I need to do to be better?' We're going to say, 'Well, you've got to be able to read this, this and that,' [and they'll say], 'Well we didn't have to do that in college.' A lot of those guys never knew how to read coverages. That is throw to a spot."
Whaley also commented on the Steelers QB situation as a whole and used this analogy…
"When you're playing pool, you're always looking to make that shot but where are you going to leave the cue for the next shot? When you start looking at what they need to do for the next shot, it's sign Ben. That's to make that first shot, to be competitive for this year and hopefully make that last run."
"But leaving the cue for the next shot is signing TJ [Watt].
Signing Minkah Fitzpatrick. Drafting Najee [Harris]. Because now you're building that defense to hopefully be a strong defense, close to top 10. A strong running game, hopefully in the top 10. And those two help compliment an aging quarterback or a young quarterback that you have to get next time so that you can still be competitive."
"When Ben came in, what did we have? A top defense and a top running game. It helped him learn on the job and not put the pressure all on his back. And it's the circle of football life. Young Ben and Old Ben. They both have to have that running game and that strong defense. Then you're set for that new young guy."
You can catch Doug Whaley's unique football expertise and insight every Wednesday from 9-10 am when he joins The Fan Morning Show live in-studio for the entire hour.
