NFL Draft: Can Pittsburgh Steelers QB Josh Dobbs Become This Season’s Dak Prescott?

Pittsburgh took Tennessee Vols quarterback Joshua Dobbs with the 135th overall pick in the NFL Draft, just like Dak Prescott in 2016. Can Dobbs be similar?

Volunteers quarterback Josh Dobbs went at No. 135 in the 4th round of the NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.

The 135th pick may initially seem inconsequential. But it almost instantaneously created some conversation regarding Dobbs and who was selected at the same spot in last year’s NFL Draft.

After being drafted and only considered to begin his career as primarily a back-up for a few years, Prescott was forced into the starting role after longtime Cowboys quarterback (now CBS color commentator) Tony Romo suffered a serious back injury in the preseason. From that point forward, Prescott never looked back as he led the Cowboys to a 13-3 record and was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year as well as a Pro-Bowler for his fantastic season.

What Prescott was able to accomplish was incredible and one of the best stories in pro sports last year. However, what made it so special was the fact that it was something unforeseen and rare.

This is why it is a long-shot that Dobbs can recreate the same type of success with the Steelers that Prescott had in Dallas.

Although, it may not be out of the realm of possibility.

Let’s look at some of the similarities of the two situations:

• Like Romo, Ben Roethlisberger is an aging, veteran quarterback (35 years old; Romo was 36 at the start of last season)
• Big Ben has a long history of dealing with injuries throughout the years, similar to Romo.
• Like Prescott, Dobbs is presumably the 3rd-string QB heading into training camp since there is already an established back-up (Kellen Moore for the Cowboys in 2016 and Landry Jones for the Steelers this year).
• And there’s the fact that they have similar body types, abilities, collegiate stats, etc.

So, already, there is more to the Dobbs/Prescott comparison than just being the same pick in the NFL Draft in consecutive years.

Even with Jones as the Steelers current back-up, he definitely does not have that spot 100 percent secured. Our editor, Caleb Calhoun, points out why Jones’ on-field performance may give Dobbs a good chance at beating him out for the back-up job:

"Jones has played in 15 games over the past two years as the Steelers’ backup quarterback, often times filling in for Roethlisberger. However, he has barely completed 60 percent of his passes and has only seven touchdowns to six interceptions."

You can read more from Calhoun on how Dobbs fits with the Steelers here.

And when looking at Steelers Twitter for the instant reaction to their team drafting Dobbs, him surpassing Jones was on some of their minds:

Even though Jones may not be the most popular player on the Steelers roster, he does have four seasons of NFL experience and has started a few games in Big Ben’s absence, going 2-2 in those instances.

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Jones also slightly improved his play last year, improving on his completion percentage, passing yards, TD/INT ratio and quarterback rating.

So, despite Dobbs having a lot of potential and possessing the athletic ability and intelligence that he does, he is still going to have to prove he is NFL-ready if he wants to beat out someone who is essentially a veteran compared to him in Jones and potentially become the next Prescott.

Of course, once last year’s training camp started for the Cowboys, Prescott had an easier road to the starting job once Moore went down for the season with a broken tibia. In Pittsburgh, if Jones and Roethlisberger both stay healthy through the preseason, Dobbs will have to earn his way up the depth chart with his performance in practice and in the Steelers’ preseason games.

But it arguably would’ve been hard for Dobbs to be drafted by a better franchise in regards to his developmental needs. Dobbs will have a tremendous offensive staff over him and head coach Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL and one of the most respected ones at that.

And from what Tomlin says, he knows Dobbs is ready to learn more:

Big Ben is also happy to have Dobbs on board:

The likelihood of a rookie Dobbs taking charge of the Steelers offense for an entire season and having an MVP-type year is probably a pipe dream. However, the possibility of him seeing playing time and maybe even starting a game or two, depending on the health of Roethlisberger, and setting the stage for him to be the starter in the near future definitely isn’t out of the question.

One thing that is for sure after this NFL Draft is that Vol fans who don’t follow the Steelers, or may even hate them, will most likely have a greater interest in them and their quarterback situation as the season draws nearer.