Steelers Now
While the Pittsburgh Steelers have, again, been a hot name around the quarterback position early this offseason, it seems unlikely they will draft one–at least early. This week, PFF released their Top 20 Prospects and their NFL comparisons and one quarterback, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward, drew comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger.
Ward is seen as the consensus top-two prospect, alongside Shedeur Sanders, in what is considered a weak quarterback draft.
PFF recently ranked Ward their 17th overall prospect going into the 2025 NFL Draft. In this same ranking, Ward was compared to the Steelers’ 18-year signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger of Miami (OH.)
“Ward is an unorthodox gunslinger, and the NFL comparison my mind keeps going back to is Ben Roethlisberger. Both had some scoot with their escapability, but you wouldn’t exactly call them mobile. Both were also fearless in pushing the ball deep down the field. It’s a high-end comparison, but I believe Ward sees the game like Big Ben did.” – PFF
While PFF maybe doesn’t credit his early-career mobility as much as they should, Roethlisberger was indeed a “backyard football” gunslinger–especially from 2004-2011. His ability to extend plays and stave off defenders would be the recipe that brought the Steelers two more Lombardi trophies during his tenure.
Ward, like Roethlisberger, is coming off a strong final season at his respective Miami program. Ward passed for over 4,200 yards, 39 touchdowns, and a fourth-place Heisman campaign finish.
If Ward could replicate his big play ability from Miami and make Roethlisberger-like plays en route to victories, it could be a spot-on comparison. The question for Ward now is where will he and the other quarterbacks fall in the draft?
