Long wait for QB pick on 2nd night of draft
ARLINGTON, Texas — Maybe NFL teams got exhausted from scrambling to pick quarterbacks in the first round of the draft. It took until the 76th overall slot Friday night, 44 picks after the last one, that Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph was selected by Pittsburgh. The Steelers get a big, strongarmed, highly competitive QB — yep, sounds a lot like incumbent Ben Roethlisberger, who is 36 and closing in on the end of his championship career.
“It’s not Ben’s job to teach me anything. It’s my job to learn,” said Rudolph, who added he dreamed of becoming a Steeler.
Pittsburgh has had little success with backups for Big Ben, with another Oklahoma product, Landry Jones, never approaching the Roethlisberger level.
When Oklahoma State played at Heinz Field last year and won 59-21, Rudolph threw for five touchdowns in the first half.
Five quarterbacks went on Thursday night, from top overall pick Baker Mayfield (coincidentally, a Sooner) to Lamar Jackson of Louisville at No. 32. Then, nothing.
Until Rudolph, who was not on hand.
Rudolph will join James Washington, his main target at Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh’s second-round choice.
“To go on to the next chapter with one of your brothers and the best receiver you’ve spent your whole college days with and maybe spend 15 years with,” Rudolph said, “it’s awesome.”
Also not present when his name was called 59th overall by Washington was LSU running back Derrius Guice. Guice was among the 22 players on hand for the opening round, but he cleared out after not being chosen. The Redskins grabbed him well after the hard-running power back had departed.
“It did surprise me because a lot of the things came out of nowhere and weren’t true,” he said of sliding, reportedly for offfield character issues, “and I just didn’t understand why me out of all people, because I’m great to everybody. I have a great personality and I just didn’t understand why everything just hit so hard with me out of everybody.
“I’m just thankful to know that this whole process is over with, that an organization believed in me and trusted in me and I’m just ready to get to work.”
Three other players not taken in the first round, Texas tackle Connor Williams, Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson, and UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin, did stick it out. Williams, who didn’t have far to go to be at home — he’s from the Dallas area — will be staying in Big D because the Cowboys chose him 50th. He could wind up at guard.
His selection drew the loudest cheers of the night at AT&T Stadium, in contrast to how the locals greeted Dallas’ first-rounder, Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, whose reception was cool at best.
“I was watching my phone and it got down to two minutes and I thought it had passed,” Williams said. “My phone starts with 972 so I knew it was a Dallas area code, and I thought this can’t be. I got on the phone and it was Cloud 9.
“It was definitely a roller coaster and it was up and down. But at the end of the day, it was all worth the wait. It was all worth it.”
Jackson went 45th to Green Bay, a place he could immediately be a starter even though he is not a speedster. He led FBS last year with eight interceptions.
“It goes back to his awareness and IQ for the game,” scout Alonzo Dotson said. “The speed never really worried us because he’s just so smart and he’s always in the right position to play the ball.”
Griffin, who had his left hand amputated when he was a child, has had a spectacular offseason since helping UCF to an undefeated year. He’s been a star at the combine and personal workouts, but having only one hand is clearly giving NFL teams pause and he did not go in the first 100 picks.