PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers don't have a quarterback of the future. And in the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, it became fair to wonder if they even have a quarterback of the present as Aaron Rodgers weighed whether or not he has a 21st season in him.

Maybe it's fitting for a team that's been spinning its wheels at the most important position in the game that it finds itself entering the 2025 draft in the same spot it was just after Ben Roethlisberger retired three years ago: with the 21st overall pick in a draft not exactly stacked with quarterback talent.

The Steelers took a leap of faith in 2022, taking former Pitt star Kenny Pickett . It didn't work out. Just as it didn't work out for Mitch Trubisky . Or Justin Fields . Or Russell Wilson.

Now what? Pittsburgh has needs in other places, particularly along a defensive line that, outside of seemingly ageless Cam Heyward, was pushed around regularly during a late-season swoon that ended with a beatdown at the hands of rival Baltimore in the opening round of the playoffs.

Yet the temptation to find an answer to what is becoming an annual question may win out by the time NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell heads to the podium in Green Bay to announce Pittsburgh's opening-round selection.

Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart were among the prospects who made pre-draft visits to Pittsburgh, a sign that perhaps anything is on the table as the Steelers try to find their way out of the rut of being pretty good but never great that they've been stuck in for nearly a decade.

Finding the right quarterback would go a long way toward providing a pathway forward. The decision that general manager Omar Khan and coach Mike Tomlin face is whether that quarterback is in this draft.

If not, there's always Mason Rudolph, who returned to the Steelers on a two-year deal in March after a season in Tennessee. Rudolph was actually in the mix to replace Roethlisberger, only for Pittsburgh to sign Trubisky and draft Pickett. Redemption came in the final weeks of 2023 when Rudolph was part of a late surge that carried the Steelers to the playoffs.

“That’s why we brought him back,” Tomlin said at the league’s annual meetings. “I’m comfortable with that. And we’ve been there before.”

In more ways than one.

The Pickens problem

Whoever is the quarterback will have the luxury of throwing to DK Metcalf, acquired in a trade with Seattle in March. Metcalf immediately agreed to a long-term extension, giving the Steelers a consistent and proven pass catcher, something they haven't really had since Antonio Brown's prime in the 2010s.

It also begs the question about what to do with George Pickens. The talented but immature wide receiver has tantalized and frustrated opponents and teammates alike during his three seasons. He's also entering the last year of his rookie deal. The Steelers could sign Pickens to an extension before the season, let him play out the year and hope he doesn't become a distraction or decide that they've seen enough and trade him, perhaps as soon as the draft.

If that happens, they figure to be in the market for adding to a room that includes Metcalf, Calvin Austin and Roman Wilson, who didn't play a down during his injury-filled rookie season.

Pittsburgh has a pretty good track record of finding and developing wide receivers, and maybe it decides to take another flyer in the middle rounds on a player with potential, perhaps minus the headaches this time.

Investing up front

The Steelers haven't taken a defensive lineman in the first round since selecting Heyward 31st overall in 2011. It's time — maybe past time — to find his heir apparent.

Pittsburgh cut Larry Ogunjobi in a salary cap move and doesn't have much up front beyond Keeanu Benton. The crop of defensive line prospects this time around is deep and with a quarterback that could provide an instant turnaround is perhaps a long shot, maybe the pragmatic thing to do is to spend draft capital on a position that needs an influx of talent and youth.

Ready to run

The Steelers could also be in the market for a running back after deciding not to re-sign Najee Harris after four straight 1,000-yard seasons. Jaylen Warren has thrived as a change-of-pace back and Pittsburgh signed former Philadelphia Eagle Kenny Gainwell, who is viewed as more of a third-down option and a kick returner.

There will be plenty of backs available this time around, yet without a second-round pick following the trade with Seattle, it seems more likely that Pittsburgh would wait until the later rounds to take a flyer on someone who could contribute.

Warren, after all, signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent and has become one of the more unlikely success stories in the league.