Who is Mason Rudolph? Four things to know about the Steelers quarterback

When the Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, at No. 76 overall, the quarterback was not exactly welcomed with open arms in Pittsburgh.

Critics of the pick pointed to areas of weakness on the team that could have — and, in their estimation, should have — been addressed so early in the selection process.

Roughly 17 months after Rudolph was drafted, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger aggravated an elbow injury and was lost to a season-ending surgery. As SN's Mike DeCourcy wrote in the wake of Roethlisberger's injury, suddenly, Pittsburgh's selection of Rudolph, now 24, seemed shrewd at worst and genius at best.

The Steelers entered Monday night's game against the Bengals with an 0-3 record. They were blown out by the Patriots with Rothlisberger to open the 2019 season. Big Ben went down in their Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, and turnovers plagued Rudolph's first career start, a loss to the 49ers.

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Steelers looking to stop their free-fall

As noted by Pro Football Talk, in order to avoid their worst season in 50 years, the Steelers need to win at least five of their next 13 games. Rudolph's play will go along way in determining whether Pittsburgh can emerge with a respectable record, let alone a playoff berth, at season's end.

Ironically, this is not the first time Rudolph has earned his chance as a starting QB thanks to injuries suffered by players ahead of him on the depth chart. In 2014, his true freshman season at Oklahoma State, Rudolph started the Cowboys' final two games of the year after both the starting QB and his backup got hurt.

A few years later, Rudolph left Oklahoma State as the winningest QB in program history.

Mason Rudolph's college career

Among the reasons the Steelers' third-round draft choice in 2018 was notable: It was the team's second consecutive selection of a player from Oklahoma State. Wide receiver James Washington was picked in the second round, just 16 spots ahead of his college quarterback.

Big-time offensive numbers have become the norm for Cowboys teams under coach Mike Gundy, who has been State's head coach since 2005, and that certainly was the case when Rudolph was leading the charge. In 2016, he threw for 540 yards against Pittsburgh. He recorded a total of 5 passing touchdowns in a single game four times during his college career.

Below are Rudolph's passing stats from Oklahoma State:

In 2017, Rudolph was a third-team All-American selection. He also won the 2017 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, "which is presented to the college senior or fourth-year junior on schedule to graduate with his class who, in addition to accomplishments on the field, is judged on character, citizenship, scholastic achievement and leadership qualities."

Some other college career accomplishments, courtesy of his Oklahoma State bio:

• Led the Cowboys to a 32-9 record as a starter, including 10 victories in games in which OSU trailed during the second half.
• Beat every team in the Big 12 during his career.
• Finished his career holding no fewer than 54 school records, including single-season and career marks for passing yards, passing touchdowns and pass efficiency.
• His 13,618 career passing yards ranks fourth in Big 12 history.
• His career mark of 324.2 passing yards per game is third in Big 12 history.
• Among FBS quarterbacks active in 2017, he ranked in the top three in passing yards per completion, passing yards per attempt, total passing yards, passing yards per game, total offense and total offense yards per play.

MORE: Steelers' Mason Rudolph draft pick now seems shrewd at worst, genius at best

Mason Rudolph's Steelers contract, salary

Rudolph has a long way to go in his quest to convince the Steelers he is worthy of being a long-term starting QB in the NFL, and Roethlisberger claims he will return next season, but let's operate under the hypothetical that is the 24-year-old remaining the starter in Pittsburgh beyond 2019.

He would be an absolute steal salary-wise.

As a third-round pick in 2017, Rudolph agreed to a rookie contract that would pay him $3,921,886 over four years. Only $932,264 of that was guaranteed, and it will be paid to Rudolph via signing bonuses over the four-year deal.

Rudolph's base salary in 2019 is $658,267, not including his signing bonus of $233,066. He carries a cap hit of $891,333 and a dead cap value of $699,198.

Because Rudolph's base salary will rise in 2020 and again in 2021 before he is scheduled to hit free agency in 2022, his average annual salary with the Steelers is $980,472.

Rudolph's cap hit in 2019 takes up just 0.43 percent of the Steelers' space. In comparison, Roethlisberger before he was put on injured reserve took up 12.66 percent of the Steelers' cap space with his $26.2 million cap hit.

Mason Rudolph is as big as Big Ben

Roethlisberger will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years after he retires, so it's silly at this point to even dream about Rudolph matching the 37-year-old veteran in terms of on-field production.

But at least Rudolph looks the part. The Steelers list Rudolph at 6-5, 235 pounds, and they list Roethlisberger at 6-5, 240 pounds.

Of course, Big Ben is a future Hall of Famer in part because of his unique mobility for such a large QB. Rudolph ran a respectable 4.9-second 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Combine, but his speed isn't as important as his pocket presence, an area in which Roethlisberger has excelled.

Mason Rudolph comes from an impressive high-school pipeline

Rudolph played for coach Kyle Richardson at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, S.C., a city just outside of Charlotte. That's the same high school that produced current NFL players Johnathan Joseph, Benjamin Watson and Cordarrelle Patterson, and it's the same city that produced Jadeveon Clowney and Stephon Gilmore, among other NFL greats.

In 2013, when Rudolph was still a senior at Northwestern, Sporting News featured Rock Hill, which is known as "Football City, USA" to locals. At the time, Miami had the most players in the NFL at 24, but that was a rate of one per 17,254 people. Rock Hill was producing one NFL player per 8,512 people.

"It's just part of the city," Richardson told SN. "There are athletes all over this town, and they are split between three schools. You talk about freakish talent. It's a freakish city when it comes to that."

Yet Rudolph was successful as a high-school quarterback. Below are some of his accolades, again via his Oklahoma State bio:

• Led Northwestern to a 62-35 victory over Stratford in the South Carolina 4A Division II championship game, completing 40-of-57 passes for 488 yards with eight touchdown passes and only one interception.
• Totaled 4,377 passing yards with 64 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions as a senior; also rushed for 543 yards on 129 carries with a 4.2 average and 16 touchdowns.
• Threw for 10,986 yards in three seasons.
• Named MVP of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.