Pittsburgh Steelers replace Ben Roethlisberger in 7-round mock following Wild Card loss
By Randy Gurzi
The Pittsburgh Steelers season ended with a loss to the Chiefs and we now look ahead to the 2022 season with this 7-round mock draft, which they use to replace Ben Roethlisberger
It was a wild ride for Ben Roethlisberger. Taken 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Big Ben was the third quarterback taken in that historic draft and ended up being the last one standing.
He was taken after Eli Manning and Philip Rivers and while all three were good, Big Ben arguably had the most success. He and Manning both wound up with two Super Bowl rings — whereas Rivers had none — but Roethlisberger ended up with an insane record of 165-81-1. He also didn’t have any of the stretches of poor play that plagued Manning down the stretch.
Now after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round, it’s time for the Steelers to begin life without Big Ben. That leads to them writing down a quarterback’s name in the opening round of this seven-round 2022 NFL Mock Draft.
1. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Liberty. Malik Willis. QB. player. 2384
Pittsburgh Steelers Round 1 pick: Malik Willis, QB, Liberty
Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins are both members of the Steelers quarterback room but neither of them has done enough to prove they should be the heir to Big Ben. Head coach Mike Tomlin has proven he can win with Rudolph, but he should be a Plan-B just in case a solid option doesn’t fall to them.
In this mock, that option does end up making its way to the Steel City as Malik Willis is there for the taking. A former Auburn reserve, Willis transferred to Liberty where he was able to put his name on the map.
He makes as many plays with his legs as he does his arm and while he needs to clean up some of his erratic throws, his ability to take off and run makes him a player who can win right now with this roster.