The Pittsburgh Steelers caught a lot of people during the 2022 NFL draft by selecting defenders with their first and final selection. Those selections of Kenny Pickett and Chris Oladokun now offer the Steelers four defenders on their off-season roster, while joining Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Pickett and Oladokun’s editorial staff certainly did not thank Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as he has been several times in recent weeks, saying that the Steelers did not need to recruit even one defender this year. Upon completion of the project, Dulac provided a spicy interpretation of his Sunday Steelers qualifying resume.
In short, Dulac wrote that he believes that now the Steelers will change Rudolph before the start of the regular season.
Now, I have to admit, right after the Steelers picked Pickett 20th overall overall on Thursday night, my initial thought was that maybe he should see Rudolph again for another draft pick in 2022. Obviously , that didn’t happen. Even so, now that the team has recruited Oladokun, I think we could really see Rudolph changed by the start of the regular season and especially if Pickett and Oladokun stay healthy and have great summers at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. .
The Steelers should now replace Mason Rudolph with the 5th, as Kenny Pickett can be a backup. #Steelers – Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) April 29, 2022
Obviously, Oladokun is not a blockade to make the Steelers’ list of 53 people right now. The team, however, liked him enough to recruit him in the final round, instead of having to fight to sign him as an unrepresented free agent if he remained unselected after bypassing him.
Look, the teams probably aren’t knocking on the Steelers’ door now to change for Rudolph, and that’s certainly understandable. Things happen, however, during the NFL’s long summers, when training camps and pre-season games take place. By the way, don’t expect Rudolph to play much in the preseason, unless there are injuries to either Trubisky or Pickett. The team knows what Rudolph is and isn’t right now. However, the same is not true of the other three defenders.
Rudolph is set to earn just $ 3 million in 2022, and while it’s not very much in the big picture, the Steelers probably won’t want to pay him that much to be the third string starter to start the regular season if Pickett he looked good enough this summer to at least be in reserve. So, in short, Rudolph could end up being split into a team that needs an experienced reserve defender closer to the start of the regular season. It is very plausible and especially if the two defenders recruited from Steelers remain healthy and show progress in the rest of the offseason.