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Path to the Draft: Three Suitors That Make Sense for Mason Rudolph

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6 years ago

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Oklahoma State held its Pro Day last week and representatives from all 32 NFL teams were in attendance. PFB had plenty of coverage, with our beat writer Luke Garza and photographer Jackson Lavarnway on hand, as well.

With that last big milestone of draft season behind us, NFL hopefuls have just over a month to take part in private workouts and meetings with teams, and continue training before the NFL Draft kicks off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on April 26.

Pro Day Leftovers

One interesting note to come out of Pro Day was Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his dinner date with James Washington and Tre Flowers. He and Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert also spent a lot of time watching and chatting up Mason Rudolph.

A couple of recent defensive free agency signings by the Steelers have added some flexibility to the team’s draft strategy according to Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Steelers could now actually look at a quarterback of the future early in the draft, if they so desire. The top quarterbacks will be gone before the Steelers draft, but what if a talent like Louisville’s Lamar Jackson falls to them? They have the luxury of grooming him while Ben Roethlisberger finishes his career over the next two or three seasons. Other quarterbacks, such as Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph, are also intriguing. Now, if one of those players is available, the Steelers have the luxury of considering using an early pick on them. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Pittsburgh has always felt like a natural fit for Rudolph. He’d have a winning culture, an established future Hall of Famer to learn under and a playoff ready group of weapons around him.

Besides, who wouldn’t like to see Rudolph beat out Landry Jones for playing time?

Threesome Courting Rudolph

According to a report by NFL.com, in addition to the Steelers, Rudolph met with representatives of the Los Angeles Chargers and the New York Giants. As noted by Dan Schneier of 247Sports, all three teams are still riding a starting QB that they drafted in the 2004 NFL Draft.

That’s somewhat of a rarity in the football world we live in as Gundy would say. And it’s an inviting situation for a prospect who could probably use a year behind an established veteran before taking the reins of a franchise.

Draft Projections

• In his latest mock for CBS Sports, Ryan Wilson has two Pokes going in the first round.

He has James Washington going No. 24 overall to the Carolina Panthers, a trendy pick among mocks as of late.

Devin Funchess was the Panthers’ leading receiver last season, followed by a running back (Christian McCaffrey) and a player they traded after eight games (Kelvin Benjamin). Put another way: Cam Newton needs another downfield weapon and Washington could be it. [CBS Sports]

And he has Mason Rudolph going No. 29 to compete with Blake Bortles on a team that was close to making the franchise’s first ever Super Bowl appearance.

Could six quarterbacks go in Round 1? If it happens, the Jags could be in the market for Blake Bortles’ replacement. Yes, he earned the right to be the starting quarterback in 2018, but there are no guarantees beyond that. If he regresses next season the Jags will have Rudolph waiting in the wings.

And QB looks like a position the Jags might plan on addressing early in the draft.

My heart hurts thinking about the not-so-distant dimension where Mason Rudolph takes over the starting job in Jacksonville and gets to throw it deep to perennial Pro Bowler Justin Blackmon.

• Bleacher Report’s Ben Sobleski has the Buffalo Bills (a name we hear linked to Rudolph often) taking the OSU record-setter with the No. 22 (via trade).

Nathan Peterman isn’t the future, whereas Rudolph could be.

The 6’5″, 235-pound gunslinger led all FBS quarterbacks last season with 4,904 passing yards and tied for fourth with 37 touchdown passes. Rudolph left Oklahoma State as the program’s all-time leading passer with 13,618 yards. He can deliver the football with uncanny timing and touch, especially on deep passes. His struggles come in the intermediate areas and against pressure. [Bleacher Report]

• In the latest five-round mock draft from NFL.com, Chad Reuter has Rudolph and Washington going back-to-back early in the second round to Miami with No. 42 and New England with No. 43, respectively. He also has Marcell Ateman going to the weapon-rich Kansas City Chiefs with the 124th pick in the fourth round.

More from #DraftTwitter

Good interview with Lacy linked here.

Some love for the big guys.

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