The Steelers are showing interest in UNC QB Sam Howell

Steelers General Manager, Kevin Colbert and a number of scouts were taking in the views at the University of North Carolina this week. Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown posted a picture of himself and Kevin Colbert after Tuesday’s practice —a standard recruiting tactic depicting NFL teams scouting their players. While scouting year round is a common practice, given the timing of the image and where Colbert is it definitely raised some eyebrows.

The University of North Carolina put a number of guys into the 2020 NFL Draft but the level of talent had a bit of a drop off this year. However, the exception is the projected first-round pick of quarterback Sam Howell who is playing his final year of collegiate football at Chapel Hill. While Howell has struggled to a degree in this early NCAA season, it is obvious he will be considered a top quarterback prospect come the spring.

The Steelers are also a team gearing up to find their next franchise quarterback. Steelers’ fans know Ben Roethlisberger’s career is winding down, whether that's this year or later remains to be seen. But the Steelers will want someone to either replace Roethlisberger next year or sit under his tutelage for a season before taking over. So the fact the Steelers are out scouting the top quarterbacks of the 2021 class should not surprise you. Over the coming weeks, I’m positive we will see Colbert turning up in places like the University of Oklahoma as well as the University of Cincinnati. The Steelers are on the prowl for their next quarterback and are showing up in all of the right places.

The fact that the Steelers are out and activity scouting quarterbacks should tell you this is a team with an eye to the future. Turning every rock in the search for the next Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is imperative and it appears the first rock of the 2021/22 season comes by way of Sam Howell at the University of North Carolina. Whether or not they draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2022 remains to be seen, but if they want someone like Howell the Steelers might be thinking about a trade up. But the draft is many months away and now is really the time to be worrying about the Steelers winning a seventh Lombardi trophy.

But what do you think? Are you happy the Pittsburgh Steelers are actively scouting 2022 Quarterback prospects. Make sure you leave your thoughts in the comments below.