The Pittsburgh Steelers have been searching for a winning starting quarterback for years. Head coach Mike Tomlin knew he had a winning signal caller on his hands when Ben Roethlisberger was under center, but the Steelers have been badly lacking since the conclusion of the 2021 season.

The Steelers were hoping that former Pittsburgh Panther quarterback Kenny Pickett would take over the role and succeed when they selected him with the 20th pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but he did not have the kind of tools that Tomlin needed. Pickett certainly played with effort, but he simply was not talented enough to win consistently in the NFL.

The Steelers brought in a pair of rejects in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields from the Denver Broncos and New York Giants, respectively prior to the 2024 season. While the Steelers made the playoffs, the offense lacked consistency throughout the season.

When the Steelers met the Ravens in the playoffs, they simply could not put a decent offensive team on the field. As a result, they need a new quarterback for the 2025 season.

Former Steeler defensive back and Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy believes the Steelers should select Dillon Gabriel of Oregon to be their next quarterback.

Gabriel was a star for the Ducks last year and Dungy went on his podcast and said he is the right quarterback for the Steelers.

Gabriel not considered an elite signal caller in this year's draft

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Cam Ward of Miami and Shedeur Sanders of Colorado are the two quarterbacks ranked at the top of the draft. Gabriel is not expected to go in the first round. There are no guarantees he will be selected in the second round. Nevertheless, Dungy likes what he has seen from Gabriel.

“He's got a high percentage of completion,” Dungy said. “Doesn't throw interception and he's mobile. He doesn't have the big name of Sanders, but I think he is a guy who can step in and play and fix that quarterback position.”

Gabriel has incredible experience at the college level. He served as the UCF quarterback from 2019 through 2021 before moving to Oklahoma for two seasons in 2022 and 2023.

Gabriel served as Oregon's quarterback last season. He completed 326 of 447 passes for 3,857 yards with 30 TD passes and just 6 interceptions.

Throughout his career, Gabriel has thrown for 18,722 yards with a 155-32 TD-interception ratio.