Steelers Urged To Stop Playing It Safe With A Bold Quarterback Gamble In 2027

The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent years trying to solve quarterback problems without allowing the position to swallow the rest of the roster. There have been veterans, developmental bets, competition and enough contingency plans to make the depth chart look prepared for almost anything. What Pittsburgh still does not have is the answer every other decision is supposed to orbit around. With another offseason approaching, patience may finally become the riskier strategy.

Matt Williamson and Wes Uhler believe Pittsburgh should enter the 2027 NFL Draft prepared to aggressively chase a quarterback it views as a legitimate franchise player rather than settle for another developmental consolation prize. Their philosophy is simple: if the Steelers love somebody, go get him. If the board prevents that, letting Drew Allar spend 2027 proving what he is would be preferable to forcing another half-measure.

The timing makes the debate unavoidable. Aaron Rodgers signed only a one-year deal for 2026 and publicly confirmed in May that this season will be his last. Allar, meanwhile, was selected 76th overall in April and signed a four-year rookie contract, giving Pittsburgh a young quarterback with intriguing traits but no regular-season evidence yet that he should automatically inherit the offense.

During a recent episode of The Drive, Williamson and Uhler argued that Pittsburgh should stop shopping for quarterbacks in the comfortable middle.

“I’m not interested in another third-round guy, though. I’m not… I’m not trying to slap a double into the gap. I’m swinging for a grand slam, and if I strike out, fine. I’ll do it again in a year or two,” Williamson and Uhler said.

That baseball analogy gets to the frustration better than another offseason quarterback ranking ever could. Allar may eventually become good enough to make the entire conversation look unnecessary, but Pittsburgh already knows what repeatedly shopping for acceptable answers can produce. Competence keeps a season alive. Franchise quarterbacks change what a season is allowed to become.

Williamson and Uhler were even more aggressive when discussing what Pittsburgh should do if the quarterback it loves is available somewhere above its natural selection.

“I don’t think that’s crazy because it might be out of your hands where you can’t get to the quarterback you want this year even though there’s a lot… Now, I think we both agree that we would move mountains to go get the guy you want… If you think you can get him at 12, I’m moving to 12 and basically whatever it takes, over market even,” they said.

That last part is where the Steelers would have to behave differently. General Manager Omar Khan has shown little fear of trades, but moving significantly upward for a quarterback requires a different level of conviction. The team would probably have to surrender premium future capital for the privilege of making one selection.

If the scouting department and Mike McCarthy genuinely believe that selection solves quarterback for the next decade, worrying about whether the trade calculator says Pittsburgh lost by 80 points would be missing the point.

That does not mean Pittsburgh should become reckless simply because 2027 contains quarterbacks people currently like. Quarterback classes have a wonderful habit of looking deep from a distance. Another college season, medical evaluations, interviews and actual NFL scouting will separate legitimate targets from October hype.

The Steelers also have information nobody outside the building possesses on Allar. His rookie year was always developmental. McCarthy began rebuilding pieces of his footwork almost immediately, and Allar showed both the ceiling and the unfinished portions during the preseason. His debut against Green Bay produced 153 passing yards and two touchdowns on 10-of-13 passing, while later outings were much more uneven. His own preseason development included progress simply getting Pittsburgh organized and operating correctly before the snap.

That is why Williamson and Uhler did not completely dismiss the possibility of giving Allar 2027.

Their point was that Pittsburgh's private evaluation will matter enormously. If coaches spend this season watching Allar absorb the offense, improve his mechanics and become increasingly ready behind closed doors, the organization may decide a year of real snaps tells it more than reaching for a quarterback it does not truly love. If the internal reports are much less encouraging, that should increase the urgency to attack the draft.

Will Howard remains another young option, but the Steelers drafted him in the sixth round in 2025 and then used a third-rounder on Allar one year later. Pittsburgh has spent resources creating possibilities behind Rodgers. What Williamson and Uhler are arguing for next is certainty, or at least a serious attempt at finding it.

Steelers Cannot Keep Treating Quarterback Like A Position To Patch

There is a difference between refusing to force a quarterback pick and becoming so afraid of missing that the organization never takes the shot.

If Pittsburgh identifies a 2027 quarterback it believes can become a legitimate franchise centerpiece, draft-chart value should become secondary. The Steelers have enough evidence from the post-Ben Roethlisberger years to understand how exhausting life becomes when every offseason begins with another debate about who might be good enough.

That does not mean Allar should be discarded because he was taken in the third round. Quite the opposite. Pittsburgh has an entire season of practices, meetings and development to determine whether it accidentally found something more valuable than his draft position suggests.

But Allar should have to earn the organization's confidence, not receive the 2027 job because the Steelers are reluctant to pay the price for somebody they like better.

Williamson and Uhler's approach carries obvious danger. Pittsburgh could surrender future picks, draft the wrong quarterback and spend years recovering. That is what swinging for the grand slam means.

The alternative is spending another year hoping a double eventually turns into four bases. At quarterback, the Steelers have played that game long enough.

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