The quarterback picture Pittsburgh was eyeing for 2027 is looking a lot less polished than it did when the season opened.
What had been framed as a deep, maybe even historic, class now feels more volatile by the week. Pittsburgh came into the year with enough names to make the exercise feel almost absurd - Still Curtain tracked 16 quarterbacks worth monitoring - and the group was even being talked about in the same breath as the 2024 crop that produced six first-round passers. Two months later, that confidence has taken a hit.
Arch Manning was supposed to be the face of the class. Instead, his Texas season has been uneven enough to raise real questions.
Through six games, he has thrown for 1,295 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, and the Longhorns have dropped consecutive games. ESPN's Pete Thamel also reported that Texas is giving KJ Lacey Jr. more work with the first-team offense, even with Manning still projected as the starter.
LaNorris Sellers hasn’t exactly surged forward either. The South Carolina quarterback has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 1,338 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions over six games. The arm talent is still there, but for Pittsburgh, he would be a projection play if his processing and consistency don’t sharpen up.
CJ Carr hit his roughest stretch of the season against BYU, finishing 27 of 49 for 261 yards and no touchdown passes. Julian Sayin has been the more productive of the two with 2,007 yards and 19 touchdowns, but now his throwing arm injury is expected to keep him out for several weeks.
Dante Moore is the one name that keeps the door from slamming shut on the whole class. Before his injury, Oregon’s quarterback had completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 926 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions.
The issue there isn’t performance. It’s the time lost to evaluation.
A few other quarterbacks have helped their stock instead of dragging it down. Darian Mensah has thrown 18 touchdowns and only one interception for undefeated Miami.
Trinidad Chambliss has kept producing at Ole Miss. Drew Mestemaker has also made a push at Oklahoma State, and Pittsburgh already had assistant general manager Andy Weidl in a scouting group that watched him, putting him among Still Curtain’s most intriguing Rodgers successors.
So the Steelers can still come out of April with their quarterback. The difference now is that the path to that answer looks a lot less clean than it once did.
In Other News...
Steelers Have A Buy-Low Backfield Option Worth Watching In New York
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For Pittsburgh, the appeal is straightforward enough: a back with some intrigue, a manageable price, and a chance to add another layer to a run game that has already settled into a workable rhythm. The question is how far the Steelers would be willing to go if New York decides it is open for business, and whether a player who looked like a longer-term piece only recently is now suddenly available in a deal that would be easy to justify for both sides. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Just Found A Quick Answer To Their WR Problem
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Valdes-Scantlings return is also a sign of how urgent the need has become after injuries hit the top of the depth chart. Roman Wilson and Michael Pittman Jr. are both sidelined, and Pittmans situation is the one that could keep the Steelers waiting longer than they would like, which makes this a short-term answer with a potentially bigger ripple effect depending on how long the roster stays stretched. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Are Forcing A Bigger AFC Conversation Around Aaron Rodgers
The AFC North is already shaping up as one of the leagues most crowded early-season races, with the Browns, Ravens and Steelers all sitting in the same general neighborhood in the standings. On First Things First, the division drew plenty of attention for how tightly packed it is, with Baltimore described as the most balanced team and Cleveland still earning notice as one of the early surprises.
Pittsburgh, though, is starting to look like more than just a steady participant in that mess. The Steelers offense has improved under Mike McCarthy, and the broader conversation around Aaron Rodgers and the roster has begun to shift in a more confident direction. For a team trying to stay in step with Baltimore and keep pace in a tough division, that changing perception may end up mattering as much as the record itself. [Read more 🡒]