Ever since the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Dwayne Haskins back on January 21st, both the media and Steeler Nation have not shied away from vocalizing their opinion on the former first round quarterback.
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of hype surrounding Haskins as his arrow started to point up. Whether it be him claiming he wanted to show the Steelers he loves football, or Ben Roethlisberger coming out and giving the young QB praise, which he almost never does, many people have been starting to look at Haskins as a potential diamond in the rough.
Regardless of his long-term outlook, people need to cool the jets on what to expect from Haskins in 2021. While he has immense talent, he is fighting an uphill battle to make roster let alone see the field.
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The two quarterbacks he is battling on the depth chart, Joshua Dobbs and Mason Rudolph, both have several years on the Steelers roster and have appealing attributes. Rudolph was a 3rd round pick by the team and appears as though he is being groomed to be the heir apparent to their Hall of Fame quarterback. While Dobbs is a favorite of Roethlisberger as he calls him his second set of eyes on the sideline helping him in game.
Haskins on the other hand has flamed out with the team that took him 15th overall, granted in a terrible situation, had his work ethic questioned, and is now in a completely new offense with a new organization. He also has had very limited work with the team being very early in the offseason, so he hasn't had much time to gain much ground on his competition.
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Now, this isn't to say Haskins won't exceed all of our expectations and potentially become the next Steelers great quarterback, because I for one would love if that happened. But right now we all need to calm down and see if he is able to put the work in and first make the team as their third quarterback this season.
Due to the Steelers familiarity with Rudolph and the consistent improvement he has shown over the years, it is unlikely Haskins can win the backup job by the start of the regular season. So while I believe that if Haskins shows he is willing to put the work in and makes improvements throughout the year, he will have a chance to compete with Rudolph next season, I have a hard time having those same expectations in 2021.
What do yinz expect from Haskins this upcoming season? Comment below!
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