Are Mason Rudolph’s throwing mechanics a cause for concern for the Steelers?

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. While no one is expecting him to be able to step in and be the starter on Day 1, and with Ben Roethlisberger on the team there is no need for him to be, many are viewing him as the future of the Steelers at the quarterback position.

While analysts, fans and experts break down the film, one current theme, or issue, with Rudolph has been his throwing mechanics. Everyone has a unique style of throwing the football, just ask Bernie Kosar, but Rudolph’s throwing motion has been under the microscope throughout the lead up to the draft.

If you ask me, anyone who is able to be as successful as Rudolph was at the Division 1 level doesn’t have horrible mechanics. He didn’t run a gimmick style offense, and while there may be some issues, they are far from red flags. This isn’t to suggest there aren’t a few things which can’t be tweaked and changed to make him more efficient in every situation as a quarterback at the highest level.

The below video is a great breakdown of Rudolph’s throwing mechanics. They diagram what he does well, what he could change and how he handles himself on both deep throws, as well as intermediate throws.

The key, according to the creators of the video, are in Rudolph’s hips. When he gets his hips into the throw, and fully rotates, he is able to not only drive the football with more velocity, but also have more accuracy on those intermediate throws which caused some headaches while at Oklahoma State. What does Rudolph do best? The deep ball, and this is a pass where the hips fully rotating happens naturally — a reason why Rudolph is so successful in this area.

Again, Rudolph has some things to work on, but ultimately he has the size and skill set to be a very capable quarterback in the National Football League. Is he the next “Big Ben”? No one can definitively say yes or no to that question today, but looking at his college tape/breakdowns, he certainly has the tools to be a top notch player.

Check out the video below: