Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger doesn't sound all that thrilled with his club's selection of Oklahoma State QB Mason Rudolph in the third round of last week's NFL Draft.

"I was surprised when they took a quarterback because I thought that maybe in the third round, you know you can get some really good football players that can help this team now," Roethlisberger told Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 The Fan's Cook and Poni Show. "Nothing against Mason; I think he's a great football player. I don't know him personally, but I'm sure he's a great kid. I just don't know how backing up or being a third [string] -- well, who knows where he's going to fall on the depth chart -- helps us win now. But, you know, that's not my decision to make. That's on the coaches and the GM and the owner and those kind of things. If they think he can help our team, so be it, but I was a little surprised."

Roethlisberger insists his concern isn't over losing his starting role, but simply that he was comfortable with the QBs already on the team's roster in Landry Jones and last year's fourth-round selection, Joshua Dobbs.

"I’ll be honest, I wasn’t worried about someone taking my job," Roethlisberger said. "I feel confident that I can go out and beat whoever I need to beat out for my job, that’s just the confidence I have in myself. And I just got back to [Jones and Dobbs]. . . . I don’t know what’s gonna happen."

Jones, 29, was taken in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of Oklahoma and has appeared in 19 games for the Steelers over the past five seasons, starting five of them. Drafted out of Tennessee, Dobbs has yet to make his NFL debut.

Roethlisberger says the selection of Rudolph muddies the waters for the Steelers behind centre going forward and cast aspersions on the team's draft strategy.

"I assume Landry’s still the [number] 2," Roethlisberger said. "I don’t really know. And Josh, same thing, last year he was taken in the fourth round. So does that mean the like Steelers screwed up in that pick? Like, do they think he wasn’t the one that they thought? Or has he not developed the way they thought? Why else would you take a quarterback in the third round the next year?”

Roethlisberger doesn't think the team will keep four quarterbacks on the roster.

“I wouldn’t think they’d get rid of Mason, keep Dobbs and Landry,” he said. “I wouldn’t think."

"Maybe they’re trying to trade me away or something, I don’t know,” Roethlisberger added with a laugh.

The 36-year-old native of Lima, OH is heading into his 15th season with the Steelers.

Roethlisberger appeared in 15 games for the team last year, throwing for 4,251 yards on 360-for-561 passing with 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.