A subset of Steelers Nation who want the organization to draft Ben Roethlisberger‘s heir apparent probably let out a sigh of relief after hearing Head Coach Mike Tomlin talk to the media at the league’s annual meetings this week:

“We’ve been in that mentality… Our experience in this business and the realities of this business put us in that mindset. [GM] Kevin [Colbert] and I have spent special attention to that position over the last several years, if nothing else from a dry-run perspective, to gain the knowledge and the information necessary to make good decisions when we come to that fork in the road. Who’s to say that we aren’t there right now?”

For all intents and purposes, the subset of fans who are gung ho on taking a quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft were excited to hear Tomlin’s comments. Finally, the savior of Pittsburgh football will be added to the roster.

I hate to break the news to this part of the fanbase, but the “savior” has been here since 2004. He was drafted 11th overall and his name is Ben Roethlisberger.

See, I read coach’s comments differently. That “special attention” part: they’ve been paying “special attention” because quarterbacks taken in the first round, since Big Ben, haven’t always worked out. Actually, they haven’t more than they have.

Year	Pick		Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int
2004	22	J.P. Losman	BUF	45	33	564	952	6271	33	34
2005	1	Alex Smith	SFO	141	136	2536	4108	27846	157	91
2005	24	Aaron Rodgers	GNB	142	135	3034	4657	36827	297	72
2005	25	Jason Campbell	WAS	90	79	1519	2518	16771	87	60
2006	3	Vince Young	TEN	60	50	755	1304	8964	46	51
2006	10	Matt Leinart	ARI	33	18	366	641	4065	15	21
2006	11	Jay Cutler	DEN	139	139	2782	4491	32467	208	146
2007	1	JaMarcus Russell	OAK	31	25	354	680	4083	18	23
2007	22	Brady Quinn	CLE	24	20	296	550	3043	12	17
2008	3	Matt Ryan	ATL	142	142	3288	5064	37701	240	114
2008	18	Joe Flacco	BAL	138	138	2915	4742	32639	182	117
2009	1	Matthew Stafford	DET	109	109	2634	4285	30303	187	108
2009	5	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	77	72	1295	2285	15219	86	86
2009	17	Josh Freeman	TAM	62	61	1179	2048	13873	81	68
2010	1	Sam Bradford	STL	78	78	1773	2844	18667	98	57
2010	25	Tim Tebow	DEN	35	16	173	361	2422	17	9
2011	1	Cam Newton	CAR	93	92	1710	2928	21772	136	78
2011	8	Jake Locker	TEN	30	23	408	709	4967	27	22
2011	10	Blaine Gabbert	JAX	43	40	686	1226	7351	38	37
2011	12	Christian Ponder	MIN	38	36	632	1057	6658	38	36
2012	1	Andrew Luck	IND	70	70	1570	2651	19078	132	68
2012	2	Robert Griffin	WAS	42	40	766	1210	8983	42	26
2012	8	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	77	77	1653	2637	18455	106	66
2012	22	Brandon Weeden	CLE	34	25	559	965	6462	31	30
2013	16	EJ Manuel	BUF	29	17	319	547	3502	19	15
2014	3	Blake Bortles	JAX	46	45	1003	1706	11241	69	51
2014	22	Johnny Manziel	CLE	15	8	147	258	1675	7	7
2014	32	Teddy Bridgewater	MIN	29	28	551	849	6150	28	21
2015	1	Jameis Winston	TAM	32	32	657	1102	8132	50	33
2015	2	Marcus Mariota	TEN	27	27	506	821	6244	45	19
2016	1	Jared Goff	LAR	8	7	112	205	1089	5	7
2016	2	Carson Wentz	PHI	16	16	379	607	3782	16	14
2016	26	Paxton Lynch	DEN	3	2	49	83	497	2	1

Of the 33 signal callers who have been taken in the first round since Roethlisberger, 18 of them were starters in the NFL last season. That’s being generous, counting Paxton Lynch’s two starts, Jared Goff’s slow start, and Blaine Gabbert’s failure in San Francisco (where he was benched for Colin Kaepernick). I don’t like to evaluate quarterbacks until they have a few seasons under their belt, as it takes time to develop players (if they develop). Robert Griffin, Jay Cutler and Andrew Luck all battled injuries last season. Two of those three (not Luck) are looking for employment this offseason.

Leaving Winston, Mariota and last year’s top draft picks off the list would severely skew the success of taking quarterbacks in the first round. It means that using “starting” as a benchmark, 15 of the top selections taken since Ben have had some success, while 13 others have not.

Unfortunately, “starting” cannot be used as the only benchmark. I have my doubts that Steelers fans would feel more comfortable with Cutler, Ryan Tannehill or Blake Bortles as the starting QB. But you could do worse. Every single player whose name is not in bold, through 2011 on the above list, has flunked out of the NFL for one reason or another… with the exception of Mark Sanchez, who just about everyone can agree is not an upgrade at the position. (Well, I know of at least one person who likes him, but I have to believe they still wouldn’t prefer them as Roethlisberger’s heir apparent.)

Teddy Bridgewater was on his way to doing good things, but an offseason knee injury put him on the shelf for all of last season, and possibly some or all of the 2017 season as well. Then there’s the number of times a team has struck out on attempting to find a franchise quarterback. The Browns have spent three first round picks on passers (Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, and Johnny Manziel) while the Bills have used two (Losman and Manuel).

On the flipside of this literal coinflip, a team could land a long-term solution such as Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck or Cam Newton, but having a franchise quarterback doesn’t always translate to wins on the football field. The Panthers have missed the playoffs in half of the seasons played since Newton entered the league. The Colts have missed the last two postseasons out of five, following 11 of 13 years of postseason appearances with Peyton Manning on the roster. (Granted some of that is due to Luck’s health.)

Jay Cutler has only led one of his teams to the playoffs once. Matt Stafford: three of his nine years at the helm of the Lions.

And yes, I’m well aware as you are that Aaron Rodgers was probably the draft steal of the decade if not the history of the NFL, so long as you’re not counting a certain quarterback from New England who wasn’t taken in the sixth round. So I bet you’re asking by now, what’s your point Joe?

My point is simple. For every Rodgers there’s a Campbell. From Rodgers’ pick, you had to wait three years to get another top-tier QB talent such as Matt Ryan. If the Lions passed on Stafford for Mark Sanchez or Josh Freeman, how would that have worked out? How much did taking Sam Bradford improve the Rams? (And no, trading him for draft picks hasn’t worked out either!)

Hey, a Tim Tebow sighting! (Yes, he was a first round pick too!)

And geesh, everyone after Cam Newton in 2012… I mean, Jake Locker was alright, but he had to retire. Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder? They’re headed that direction, but for different reasons. (Locker retired due to health concerns.)

So when Mike Tomlin said he was “paying special attention” to the quarterback position, I believed him. But for different reasons. Entirely different reasons. The Steelers head coach, along with General Manager Kevin Colbert know how to best strengthen their team to compete for a Super Bowl. With a Hall of Fame quarterback already on the roster, there are 21 other starting spots which demand a first round graded talent. Some of those positions are already filled, with the challenge being the one that can be strengthed in this draft.

I am near certain it won’t be the guy with the headset standing on the sidelines, who rarely gets in the game.

P.S. – Yes I hear you. Ben gets injured. Steelers made the postseason the last three years… get over it! 😉