Before choosing Landry Jones two years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had not drafted a quarterback in the first four rounds since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. He went No. 10 overall. Jones went 115th after a four year career at Oklahoma.
Two seasons later and Jones has yet to throw a regular-season pass. As the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart, he can't afford to have his offensive coordinator call his offseason performance "up and down" as Todd Haley did. Jones needs to show coaches he's worth keeping around as a backup, but first he needs to show himself.
"I have to figure out what style of quarterback I'm going to be," he told ESPN.
Jones knows that Roethlisberger and longtime backup Bruce Gradkowski have already figured out their own individual styles. Jones wants his identity to be built around quality decision making "and making plays when they are available."
Jones is no stranger to making plays. He threw for just south of 17,000 yards during his college career. But Haley's fast-paced offense is a bit tougher to grasp then what the Sooners ran. Even Jones admits that "I could see where he could say that," when asked about Hayley's so-so assessment.
But Jones also finished minicamp with some impressive plays, including a touchdown during the team's two-minute drill on the last day. It offered a glimmer of hope for his NFL future.
"Felt good to finish that way," Jones said.
Former sixth-rounder Tajh Boyd will compete with Jones for third-string snaps. The hope is that this competition will bring out the best in both players.
"They just want to see me progress, take more control of the offense, kind of make it my own," Jones said. "Become more of a leader inside of it."
We'll see if he's able to rise to the challenge during training camp.
