We were expecting a run on quarterbacks in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, and that’s exactly whats happening. After Matt Barkley went off the board with the first pick of the day, he was quickly followed by Ryan Nassib (New York Giants), Tyler Wilson (Oakland Raiders) and Oklahoma’s Landry Jones who was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jones’ selection by the Steelers shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise, as Pittsburgh needs a quarterback moving forward. Like the Giants, they don’t need one who can start, rather they need one to play a backup role to the current starter. But unlike the situation in New York, Ben Roethlisberger is injury prone and we saw how badly the Steelers play with him off the field.
It was as if the backup situation had never been honestly assessed and it showed when Big Ben was out for a few games last season and Charlie Batch was the best option.
Jones is a guy who struggled to make his way up draft boards due to some so-so play at Oklahoma. However, he still possesses the skills to be a solid backup quarterback in the NFL, and like Nassib in New York, he now has time to develop his skills behind a Super Bowl champion. There’s no promise that Jones will ever pan out, but at least lets have him play in a few memorable games just for his name’s sake.
Landry Jones is a football name, and while that has absolutely nothing to do with his skills it’s worth mentioning.
But in all seriousness, this was a move the Steelers needed to make, and like Eli Manning in New York, Landry Jones being drafted in no way signals the beginning of the end for Ben Roethlishberger. He’s the starter, he will continue to be until he gets hurt but the only difference is now when that happens, the Steelers have someone capable of filling in his shoes.