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The Depot Dive - Episode 95 - March 27, 2026

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March 27 – Ep. 95: For today's episode, Joe Clark and Ross McCorkle go over a recent 12-pick Steelers mock draft, what it got right, and changes they would make. Next, we discuss Bob McGinn's annual scouting series starting with his WR rankings and how it shifts thinking on this draft class. Then we touch on a report about Kirk Cousins and how he nearly ended up in Pittsburgh ahead of the 2025 season. Thank you for joining us for this 34-minute episode, and we hope to see your thoughts in the comment section. Call the hotline at (412) 254-3145 and leave us a question for a chance to have it answered in a future episode. You can also text the line if you don't wish to have your voice on the show! Follow us on Twitter: Ross: @Ross_McCorkle Joe: @jclark1233 Steelersdepot.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Depot Dive - Episode 95 - March 27, 2026

The Terrible Podcast - Steelers Podcast via Steelers Depot

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The Terrible Podcast - Steelers Podcast via Steelers DepotThe Depot Dive - Episode 95 - March 27, 2026. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.

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Welcome back everybody to another episode of the depot dive. I'm Ross McCorkle and above me on the screen, Joe Clark. And we're going to cover three of the biggest dealers related topics of the week. It's a bit of a lighter week. So we're going to go over my mock draft that posted last Sunday. I'm going to ask Joe if he has any qualms with the picks that I made. We'll see. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't. And then we're going to talk about go long and Bob begins annual scouting series where they interview, I guess anonymous scouts around the league anonymous personnel execs and rank each position group. And they started today their annual series with the wide receivers. Of course one of the most intriguing positions for the Steelers this year. So we're going to we're going to discuss their rankings. I think there's some interesting things to talk about in that. And finally, there was a report I believe from one of the NFL network guys about Kirk Cousins and

how the Steelers tried to trade for him last year, which leads us back down the path of what is the backup plan at quarterback if Aaron Rogers decides to retire that unfortunately is still up in the air. Joe, how's everything on your end? Is your bracket completely busted? Where are you at? It's not it's not great. But I wouldn't say it's completely busted. I Houston losing last night cost me my first final four team. So that that wasn't ideal, but it was a great game for Illinois. They kind of beat Houston or their own game is kind of fun to watch. Even though I had Houston winning. So I mean, I've I've been having fun watching this tournament. There's been a lot of good basketball, a lot of close games. Yeah, Kansas lost. And that was I think my first big big issue. Arizona's still alive. So that's I guess I still have some life left. Well, yeah, I'm pretty far down in our Steelers depot bracket league. No doubt. I don't think I have any I don't have any dream of or hopes of winning. I think last year I may have ended up in deadlast.

And I there's there's a chance that that'll happen again. We'll see. But moving into the Steelers stuff starting with my mock draft. I don't want to go pick by pick. That's going to take a long time. 12 draft picks is a lot to get through. So I'm going to quickly just literally read them off. And then I have some kind of bigger higher level, you know, overarching questions about it that I want to hear from you. So first round. Oh, and for this mock draft, I didn't do any trade. So this one I picked all 12 picks. Last one I did do a trade up. So I think I ended up making 10 picks in my first mock draft. This draft all 12. I don't know if I'm going to do that again to be honest. And we'll talk about that in a bit. Why? But from the top wide receiver Casey concept shown Texas A&M round two, a manual pregnant on guard from Oregon, round three, Josiah Trotter, inside linebacker from Mizzou. Second of round three, Genesis Smith, safety, Arizona, third round three, Sam Rausch, tight end, Stanford,

round four, to Cario Davis, cornerback, Washington, round four, Tim Keenan, the third, nose tackle, Alabama, round five, Kendrick Law, wider receiver slash return specialist from Kentucky, round six, Tyriek Sappan, edge rusher from Florida. And then the three seventh round picks, Devon Eastern, a defensive lineman from Minnesota, Jade Nott, running back from Oklahoma, and another tight end with the final pick, Khalil Dinkins from Penn State. I tried to fit a few pre-draft visitors in there. I tried to, you know, as best as I could fill all the needs that I think we discussed our top needs last week. I believe I don't have a tackle on here, tackle is one of your top needs. So I'm imagining that might be a place where you have qualms with this. So that's where I want to start. Putting you in charge for a second, where did I mess up? Yeah, I mean, I do really like the way you did attack the needs. Um, I maybe would have had

it often to tackle in there somewhere. Uh, the biggest thing I think that stood out was just no quarterback. And as it stands right now with no commitment from Aaron Rogers and 12 picks, um, I just, I would probably would have just taken a flyer on a quarter. That could have been a late round guy. Not necessarily to think it has to be, you know, a third round guy, like a drew allure. Um, but, you know, it could pay in maybe a little bit later, although he might be even in the day to your end of this point. But just take a flyer on a guy just to have somebody in the pipeline. If you're out just doesn't come back, somebody that maybe you can work with and develop. But I mean, overall, I mean, I think it was a really strong draft yet, you know, a good receiver in the first round. We got a starting caliber guard in the second round. Um, you know, you, you bulk up a positions of need where you get a safety and a linebacker tight ends a big position. I need Sam Roush and probably one of my favorite tight ends in this draft, um, out of Stanford. I think he's, he's, he's a pretty solid player and somebody that could be pretty impactful in a fall player. And then I'd like getting, you know, a big, uh, the plugging nose tackle and Tim Keen

in there, uh, return man in Kendrick Law. I think return man's going to be a key need in this draft. They got to find somebody that has a chance capability. So all in all, I kind of, I kind of, you know, I like the way you attack the needs and you filled in, um, positions where, you know, maybe they have a guy right now, but you can add some additional depth like it. A Tyrux sap is, is an example there. I like that is having, you know, guy that's super strong and can maybe develop some loose other tricks and make him into, uh, you know, a solid, reliable NFL player. So, my, yeah, I mean, I probably would have taken, you know, maybe developmental off of the tackle, like we talked about last week, uh, like the Markelle bell type or, and I would probably would have taken a fly on a quarterback, but overall, I think this is a super strong draft. Now, if this is how things played out, I really wouldn't have too many issues with it. I'd be pretty happy with it. Well, I made the mistake of reading through the comment section, which is always dangerous in the mock drafts. Um, I think overall, a lot of people were kind of got what I was going for. Of course, there's, there's some people that just tell you you're an idiot, which is fine,

that comes with the territory. Uh, I think the biggest qualms that I got just from the hive mind, the general public, if you will, is that I took two tight ends and Sam Roush being that early. They didn't understand that, you know, the tight end isn't a need. You've got fire mode, you've got Darnell Washington, but, um, so I want to talk a little bit about the tight end position and why I chose to address that as early as I did. And also why I chose to double dip. And I think that also leads us into a discussion about, are they really going to make all 12 picks? Because yeah, once you get down that down the board there, um, you start saying, who's even going to be have a shot at making this team? Um, I think last mock draft, I added a punter late, but because they brought Cam Johnston back, I mean, I suppose they could still grab a punter. Maybe, you know, a competition. I mean, they didn't like Johnston enough last year to keep him over coreless weight. So what does that say? I mean, it's a whole new coaching staff. So who knows? But, uh, yeah, it really becomes difficult to, to start to fit 12 picks where you're like,

does this guy even have a remote shot at making this roster? Um, and so, you know, a guy like Dinkins, he was a pre-draft visitor. He has some experience doing like fullback H-back kind of like the Connor Hayward Swiss Army knife role. And so that's why I took a second one, but as far as why I took Roush, yeah, I mean, the Steelers are one injury away from having quite a issue on their hands at tight end. Um, yeah, they're not going to do as much 12. Certainly, probably not almost any 13 personnel, uh, as they did with Arthur Smith, but the NFL is still kind of trending in that direction. Mike McCarthy talked about he loves picking up on trends and kind of elaborating or, or, uh, furthering those trends. If, if there's something that's working around the leagues, big on analytics. And so, you know, if analytics and stuff are saying 12 personnel is good and certain situations, you know, we're probably going to see at least some of that, uh, with Mike McCarthy. And I think he had some success with that in even in Dallas with, uh, who did he have? He had

Ferguson and Schultz at one point there. So, um, yeah, I, I think you need two good tight ends. And so what happens if, say Pat Fryermouth gets hurt? Do you really trust Darnel Washington to get that kind of volume at tight end? I mean, Mike McCarthy uses his tight ends. You look at Schultz and Ferguson stats as the tight end one, even just ignoring tight end two stuff. They're, they had like phenomenal production way beyond what the Steelers have had from their tight ends in recent years, uh, over his five years with, with the Cowboys, Mike McCarthy there. So, I don't know. I, I see tight end as a much bigger need. John who Smith wasn't the guy to fill out that room. That was clear. And, you know, I do want to see Pat Fryermouth in the top spot. I think he deserves that. And we've all been waiting to see that for years now. But, man, you need, you need somebody there, uh, in case of emergency. And fortunately, you know, maybe you, maybe I was a bit of a luxury to take one in the fourth just because this class is so deep. But

that was my logic. You like Roush, but I mean, what do you think about the whole idea of a tight end that early? And what is the earliest you would go? I mean, you, how, you really only have two tight ends on, on the roster right now. So I think a third round tight end is, you know, a very plausible spot for them to take when given that they have, right now they have three third round picks. I would say third or fourth round. I think we're going to see this team taking a tight end. And I know that might be unpopular in the fan base. But I think it's a position that, as you said, that McCarthy has utilized and you need another guy there and you need somebody that can develop. I mean, don't know Washington. They're probably going to sign to an extension. But what if they don't? What if something happens? He gets hurt again. He had injury issues. I cropped up. Maybe the team doesn't feel super comfortable, which I don't think is going to go, is the case, given what Omar Khan said about don't know Washington. I think he's a guy that they will have long term. But you still need a third guy in that room. And I think taking one, you know, with one

of your third round picks and what is a very deep and very talented at end class is certainly plausible. I have the numbers here. Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson. Again, ignoring tight end two. So while Schultz was the tight end one and Dallas and while Jake Ferguson was the tight end one, which spanned over five years there, they combined for 328 receptions, 3,255 yards, 22 touchdowns over five years. And that's, that's, you know, pretty considerable production. Some of those years were six, seven, eight hundred yard seasons for some of those guys. So, you know, it's going to be a big part of the offense. It's not completely going away just because Arthur Smith left, which I think some of the fans, oh, you don't have art to Smith anymore. You don't need to tight end. No, no. Tight end still, like one of the most important positions they have to do so much within the offense. And sometimes it's kind of the unheralded work. And that's why Roush I thought was good because he's a guy who's kind of a throwback. He can do it all. He can, you know, he can

be a receiver. He can inline block. He can do the dirty work. So that's why I like Roush. And, you know, I don't even know if he's going to be there at number 99. We'll see. I think that would be good value though if they were able to get him there. Spring starts at the Home Depot. And we are bringing the heat to your backyard this season. Fire up the flavor with our wide variety of grills for under $300 like the next grill for burner gas grill that's perfect for hosting your spring cookout. Then set the scene and turn your outdoor space into the go-to spot the patio sets for every budget. Bring it this season with grills that deliver flavor and patios that set the vibe from the Home Depot. Start your spring with low prices guaranteed at the Home Depot. Exclusions apply to Home Depot dot com slash price match for details. Score more with the college branded Venmo debit card and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo stash. Got paid back with the Venmo debit card you can infinitely access your balance and spend on what you want like game day snacks, gear, tickets, and more. The more you do the more cash back you can earn. Plus there's no monthly fear minimum balance. Sign up now at Venmo.com slash

college card. The Venmo master card is issued by the bank court bank NA select schools available. Venmo stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo.me slash stash terms max $100 cash back per month. Nothing brings people together quite like Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games. From NBC Universal's iconic storytelling to the innovative technology across Xfinity and Peacock, Comcast brings the Olympic Games home to America, sharing every moment with millions. When Team USA steps on to the world stage, people aren't just watching. They're cheering together. This winter everyone is all on the same team. Comcast, proud partner of Team USA. You mentioned the return stuff and that's another reason why I went with Casey Conception in the first and then law in the what did I do fifth there. Law has a kick return experience and Conception was one of the best punt return guys in college and you know Conception even being a first round pick would likely be the third receiver maybe even fourth at first depending on what

happens with Roman Wilson and so yeah this is a guy who absolutely can be the partner turner. You have Calvin Austin the third off the roster. They need somebody to fill that role in Conception is electric with the ball in his hands and so I think that's another positive about the way I attack this. We'll have a bigger discussion on Conception in a second when we get to the wide receiver rankings from again because there's some interesting stuff in there but I did want to also talk about making all 12 picks so like I said it's difficult to fit those on the roster which that leads us to the idea of trading. I mean do you think this is a year they're going to trade up if so how many times and recently we've seen stuff like from Rafe at Apollo Pittsburgh Post Gazette say that the Steelers are going to angle to trade back. I think Mark Kabali also said something similar so the idea of trading back for I guess picking up 2027 draft capital because there's going to be a lot of quarterbacks in that class supposedly. Let's say you. I think that's

a smart idea. The only thing is I wonder if they're going to struggle to find teams that are going to be interested in trading up into this year's draft or next year's draft capital because as you said there's a lot of quarterbacks there's it's a talented draft class coming in next year whereas I think this year's probably a little less talented so are they going to find teams that are willing to give up next year's draft capital for this year's draft capital. I think that could be a little bit of an issue but I mean I'm sure they can probably find you know one or two teams that really love a guy made them a third round and they can go and trade for next year's for a pick next year and but suddenly they haven't really done it a while but I think it's an interesting philosophy and something I'd be I would like to see them try to do. I just wonder how feasible it's really going to be. Yeah I think our Matthew Marxie dug up the last time that the Steelers actually did trade current draft capital for future draft capital and it was like they was they say the year before Kevin Colbert became the GM or something like that it was like maybe 1999 or two it was

it was a long time ago so over 25 years ago at this point that they did that. They've done some trades involving future picks but it hasn't been a straight like all right you know we're going to take some 2027 capital and give up some 2026 capital Steelers just don't have a history of doing that and so and I think there's the idea of if you're the team trying to initiate that trade like you're calling people and saying hey do you I mean that's not really going to happen so what's going to have to happen is a team is going to have to call you know Omar Khan and say we want to move up at that point Omar Khan then tries to negotiate 2027 capital and yeah it becomes I mean is it the kind of situation where teams are already valuing 2027 capital more than 2026 usually it's you know I forget what the saying is but one in the one in the pocket is work two in the I don't know what that saying is but one right now is usually worth more than two next year but I think

it might be some inverted calculus on that this time around just because of the quarterback strength then you know I don't really think many are viewing this draft class as like super loaded with like blue chip kind of prospects and so yeah I don't I guess they they could try to they probably will pick up at least some 2027 capital but is it going to be the kind of thing where you got to give up like a say you give up like a second and get back a third next year like you're downgrading picks to get to next year I mean that I don't even know if I prefer that at that point maybe I don't know but that that's the issue I see with that idea it's very easy to talk about much harder to execute properly so all right I think that's enough talking about my mock we're going to discuss Bob McGins annual wide receiver rankings that he did via go longs on substack he has some anonymous quotes from some scouts around the league some personnel executives around the league and the

kind of high level summary if you will of the sentiment on the wide receivers is quote you just don't see first rounders in this class another quote quote these Denzel Boston's and Casey conceptions and Antonio Williams of the world they're just guys another quote aftertaste in other years these guys would be second third fourth rounders there's nothing out there and so just off the top I was a little bit taken I mean I feel like a lot of the sentiment has been that the receiver class is loaded there's a lot of studs etc um at least these anonymous scouts seem to disagree your thoughts Joe yeah I was certainly surprised but certainly a lot of a lot of it was by the placement of some of these guys that Omar Cooper is the eighth best receiver in the draft Elijah Serrat at 15 kind of surprised me so to Jeremy Bernard at 16 some of these guys that you know we've looked at the Cooper in the first round and I think you know

Serrat's been looked as you know day two guy I think Bernard also a day two guy they have them way down the list in terms of where they rank among receivers so I was that was definitely a little bit surprising to me just the general thought that you know these guys wouldn't be first rounders we've been seeing in all these mark drafts you know five six receivers going in the first round and really what they're saying is that they shouldn't be going that high um ultimately I don't think that's going to be the I mean I think you you're going to have McIlamin's going to be a first round pick even though this kind of insinuates he shouldn't be same with Jordan Tyson same with you know probably Denzel Boston um I think Cooper too is probably going to be a first round pick so I was surprised by a lot of the criticism towards this class I mean I do think there's some there's some value in the sentiment that yeah these guys might not be you know elite blue chip number one receivers but I think all these guys fit in a role in certain types of offenses and that you know just because they might not be a top receiver doesn't mean that they don't have

value as potential first round pick and there's a player that can definitely make an impact in whatever scheme or whatever offense they're drafted into so maybe the talent level is in as high as it could be but I think that you're you're if you're looking for fit that a lot of these guys have fit with a lot of teams and that's why they're mocked to the in the first round and probably will end up going in the first round yeah I guess just stepping back from a I mean the Steelers have two big guys on the outside are they going to draft another big guy or they're just going to make this a basketball team in that wide receiver room I think that's why a lot of people have been trending towards the Munkai lemons and the Casey conceptions that's certainly my thought process but I think there is a reasonable conversation to be had about should a first round pick be spent on a guy who may just be a slot receiver forever or you know do they have potential to develop into a number one because that's kind of some of the

feedback from some of these scouts is a lemon in particular just a slot guy conception basically similar sentiment as well so at that point you know is that something the Steelers should be doing or do they need to be drafting somebody who they think can develop into a wide receiver one I think right I think the long term answer and the short term answer are kind of two different answers but what should they I guess value yeah I mean I I think they should be looking for a conception type I don't really wouldn't really understand adding another big guy on the outside I mean it could work his Michael Pittman kind of said that Mike McCarthy plants some movement around the offense and he could function as a big slot and you could have an offense full of big receivers so if there's you know let's say Jordan Tyson's there and they really like Jordan Tyson they take him he's he's more of a bigger guy on the outside I can see that but if they're going receiver in the first round I would value a case he

concepts your own type probably a little bit more than somebody like Denzel Boston just because of how he fits the Steelers yeah you you listed some of the rankings here but I'm just gonna go over Harnell tape one that was kind of the only guy they were seemed to be universally high on but still said still still made sure to remind he wasn't even the best receiver on his own team at Ohio State and so what does that say I don't know but two McCoy lemon USC three Jordan Tyson Arizona State for Denzel Boston Washington five case he concepts your own Texas A&M six Chris Bell Louisville seven Chris Brazil 10 to see eight Omar Cooper Jr. Indiana Nine's Acariah branch 10 Bryce Lance um 11 Dion Burke's Oklahoma 12 Antonio Williams Clemson and then they kind of lumped the next five together Malachi Fields Notre Dame Jacobi Lane Southern Cal Elijah Sarat Indiana Jeremy Bernard Alabama and Ted Hurst Georgia State and yeah like you said Elijah

Sarat I mean they're calling this guy like a he's a nice player fifth six round to say oh yeah I think that's a lot lower than kind of how most have been viewing him so it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out and people are wrong every year scouts aren't don't bad a thousand certainly um I mean just look at last year with oh gosh I'm blanking on his name what's that receiver from that that got drafted by Detroit way earlier and everybody thought he was a tesla oh yeah yes exactly like he was he was viewed as a you know fifth six kind of developmental guy ended up going way earlier and there's the flip side happens all the time as well there's guys who fall I think you know if you looked at shitter Sanders stuff from go long last year I bet you know some of those scouts probably look pretty foolish um saying what they said etc so yeah just to take this with a reminder to take this all with the grain of salt these are anonymous scouts um you know Bob again is plugged in so I don't doubt that they are you know people working in in the league

um I saw some comment like oh this is basically just redditors and no I don't think that's the case but uh just you could still take it with a grain of salt these guys get stuff wrong too um it's not a perfect science but I did yeah I was I was injured I was kind of like maybe think about the draft a little bit differently it's like okay well you know everybody seems universally high on like a Dylan thingman or um I think what Alex just had in his first round of his of his latest mock he had a manual McNeil Warren so is safety the better value or should you know is the Venga Yawane play a better value because he seems to be kind of like a borderline top 10-15 prospect that just because he's a guard might get pushed down a little bit and so I don't know so this series is always kind of slightly shifts my thinking as it unravels in this receiver one I found pretty interesting um how many of these guys would have to be gone before you're like all right they shouldn't go with this position like this episode is brought to you by white

cloth surge nice choice hitting up this podcast no surprises you're all about diving and it tastes everyone in the room can enjoy just like white cloth surge it's for celebrating those moments when connections have been made and the nights just begun with bold flavors and 8% alcohol by volume unleash the night unleash white cloth surge please drink responsibly hard shelter with flavors 8% alcohol by volume white cloth shelter works Chicago Illinois protein is now at Starbucks and it's never tasted so good you can add protein cold foam to your favorite drink or try one of our new protein lattes or matcha try it today at Starbucks going off of this white receiver ranking carnell just tell just say stop when you'd sit when you'd when you'd switch carnell tape macaque lemon Jordan Tyson Denzel Boston Casey concepts your own Chris Bell I would I would stop at Casey

but I like I like Omar Cooper a lot so I would kind of have him at six and then after that I would stop after you're looking if you're looking at the first round specifically at that point then I would if if those six are gone then I would I would I would call it there and move on and draft somewhere else in the first round so last year there were I think there were four receivers in the first round last year they said over the last six years there's been an average of 5.3 receivers taken in the first round and so we are now with you know I I think I agree with you by the way so I'm not saying that you're wrong here but we're we're saying that up to maybe six in the first round and so that would be calling it a better receiver group than average which is in stark contrast to what these doubts are saying so that's the point I wanted to make moving on to a different subject not draft related well at least slightly not draft related this being the Steelers plan be a quarterback an interesting report on Kirk Cousins Joe take it away yes so Tom Pell Seros on the rich eyes and show yesterday and he had a pretty concrete that the

Steelers tried to trade for Kirk Cousins this today quote Kirk Cousins is one I know they called on him last year and the Falcons at the time didn't want to trade them didn't want to engage in trade talks but now Kirk Cousins is free Cousins potentially could be an option if they pivot away from Aaron Rogers which hasn't happened yet and it was kind of interesting to me because Kirk Cousins has been a guy that has been discussed to you and I think Jason Locke and four first reported he was their plan B Adam Shaftier said something similar we've also heard that Will Howard and rolling with Will Howard could be their plan B I think that's something that even Pell Sero or Mike Garofolo some of those NFL Network guys will kind of push a little bit more and now Pell Sero maybe he's kind of changing his tune a little bit and hinting that Kirk Cousins very well could be the plan B and to me it would make a lot of sense just given that you have another veteran in the room you can be a mentor for Will Howard for Cousins didn't it wasn't complained didn't complain did his job sitting behind Michael Pennick's junior so if the Steelers get to a point where they say hey that's a roll with Will Howard I don't think Kirk Cousins is going to you know cause any problems if he

has to be the back up there so it would make sense to me if he's if he's kind of that guy I mean I'm still with the belief that Aaron Rogers is going to come back it's just going to be that elongated process which I said it wouldn't be but nothing can ever be can be easy when it comes Aaron Rogers it seems so it's going to be another elongated process I think he's going to come back but if he doesn't I would personally be okay with Kirk Cousins and I think it's pretty interesting that they tried to trade for a monster and tried to make a move for a monster when we kind of heard that they seem to be all in our arid Rogers and we're content waiting but now that's putting it out there that they at least inquired made an effort to trade for Kirk Cousins and if they did that then an around just would never have been a stealer so at least you know it shows that there is some prior level of interest and now he's a free agent they can probably sign in pretty cheap if they wanted to kind of be that that backup option and I think that would be a pretty good backup option yeah and he's another year removed from that Achilles injury it's kind of the same

trajectory as Aaron Rogers after his injury came back the first year it was rough you know Cousins ended up getting benched or whatever ended up looking pretty good last year when he played at the end of the season there after Michael Penix went down I think and so yeah I mean it could be interesting I don't know if I love the idea of just continuing down this path of rehashed guys especially you know Aaron Rogers is one thing because he kind of already at least knows most of the guys in the locker room and certainly here already knows Mike McCarthy and so grabbing another old guy another I mean then you're getting into next year and you're we're having to have this conversation again oh all right are they gonna keep Kirk Cousins for another year and then gosh I mean I just personally am hoping hoping for a clean end to the cycle I think Aaron Rogers presents the cleanest break to the future where it's like okay Rogers is definitely like if this is his if he comes back this is definitely it I would think I guess I can't say that with the with

100% certainty I think there's been things said about that where this would definitely be his last year if he came back but I really hope the plan B is just to roll with Will Howard I know the Steelers kind of always do what they can to be in position to compete and contend and maybe they don't view Howard as ready and I mean why should they they they shouldn't view him as ready but I'm also just kind of curious and and ready to get on to the next era of Steelers football and Kirk Cousins would just be very disappointing to me personally I think you know I think the fan base would be split but I do agree with you he makes sense I mean shoot the Steelers have been doing this now for a few years so why wouldn't they continue down that path and keep trying to see if they can get TJ Watt and Conor Hayward and some of these veterans over the hump at least get him a playoff win if not pushing deep into the playoffs Cousins would certainly give him a better shot at that than Howard at least in 2026 so it does make sense but let's see what else on this

quarterback stuff how I think there's been some discussion I think like what Jay Duelack said third round is the highest the Steelers would draft a quarterback where would you start to look at taking a flyer what's the earliest you could pull that trigger and who's kind of your preferred flyer name on the market if you will yeah I wouldn't look until the third round I'd be okay you know third through fifth round taking a quarterback that would be fun if they don't have a commitment from Rodgers I like Garrett Nussminer if you believe that he was injured last season he showed enough good on tape prior to the last season that I think there could be some upside there I mean he was getting legitimate first round hype heading into this season and then if he played through the injury and that obviously impacted him this season I mean Drew Auer has the traits he just hasn't had any of the legitimate production that you would like to see from somebody that you'd be taking fairly high but I think you could gamble on the traits I would gamble on the traits

of Colp and at some point the Steelers seemed to have a lot of interest in him but out of that crop I mean I think Nussminer would probably be the guy that I think would make the most sense especially given that his dad is connections with Mike McCarthy I think I think he makes a lot of sense and that would probably be the name in the middle rounds there that I would probably target first I don't want to completely rule out Ty Simpson but the Steelers were barely had any presence over there at the Alabama Pro Day who did they have that that Crockett and Ike Taylor so I mean just basically they're standard SEC area guy and then Ike Taylor who's pretty much there to work out corners and I guess he was there probably mostly to see his son who plays at Alabama Ivan Taylor so yeah it doesn't sure it doesn't seem like they have any interest in your ties the tie Simpsons of the world like you said they've shown interesting Cole Peyton but he seems to be sneaking up the draft boards to a maybe an area that I'm not super comfortable taking him to be honest we'll see kind of how

that shakes out but yeah Garrett Nussminer would probably be the most interesting to me as a flyer but he is you know he's a little undersized he had a rough last year he really hasn't had that many quality starts overall you know he does have the McCarthy connection through his dad or whatever but I don't know I looked at him at the senior bowl he looked good to me I think you have Todd McShay saying just today on his podcast the McShay show saying Garrett Nussminer is going to be a starting quarterback in the league and you didn't say it good or great one but he did say you know a guy who will be a starter in the league as that's his opinion and so yeah as that a guy who's worth taking maybe the steal maybe maybe we'll Howard ends up sucking and the stealers need a bridge to the next guy is Nussminer capable of being that bridge maybe so yeah I agree I think Nussminer is probably my flyer of choice in the third round I would not do it until pick 99 in my opinion

just going through the mock draft scenarios man it gets hard to fit all these needs in that I want to hit on if you don't do things a specific way over those first four or five picks becomes very difficult so um fitting a quarterback in there then you're sacrificing I don't know you're probably sacrificing a linebacker or you're sacrificing a safety or maybe an offensive lineman and I don't know if I'm prepared to do that for a flyer who you know if you like will Howard Moore what are we doing so anything else to add Joe no all right well uh we don't have a question this week from our listeners so that is our call to action for you guys listening four one two two five four three one four five give us a call tell us your name where you're from a brief question and we'll answer it on a future episode you can also text that number if you don't want to have your voice on the show that's totally fine just give us a text on that same line and we'll read it

off on a future episode a few more until the draft a few more slow episodes of uh not too much news probably to talk about a lot of draft stuff coming your guys way we're just finishing up small school week on Steelers Depot where we're posting FCS and below prospects so um you know we've we've done some of these profiles on the uh small school guys in the past and they ended up coming in handy for Steelers undrafted signings and whatnot so um check all those out for sure thank you guys for tuning in for another episode of the Depot dive I'm Ross that's Joe and we will catch you guys next time

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