There can be little debate that one of the widest and most ardent fan bases in the NFL belongs to the PITTSBURGH STEELERS. And those fans clearly consider last year’s mediocre Steelers effort as an aberration, due in great part to the transition from BIG BEN’s Offense to his anointed successor KENNY PICKETT. It cannot be debated that by the time the season hit the home stretch PICKETT had found his stride and the team was a spoiler going from a 2-6 start to the season and finishing 7-2 to barely miss a Play-Off Wild Card berth and preserve HC MIKE TOMLIN’s streak of never having a losing season record at the helm. TOMLIN, and new GM OMAR KAHN are now the key figures, along with ANDY WEIDL, in constructing the team’s roster.
Looks to me like they had a solid Draft effort which sorts out as follows:
Round 1, Pick 14 BRODERICK JONES OT Georgia 6’5/310 PP Rank #7 Just to prove that the Georgia football program plays with some elite athletes on Offense as well as D, JONES was my top OL and Top 10, just after his teammate Jalen Carter as a pro prospect. He’s athletic and he’s big and strong. He also turned out to be even longer than the UGA program listed him at. At the Combine his arms measured at 34 3/4″ long and he had a 82 3/4″ Wingspan. So much for any concerns about length to play OT after a couple of seasons at OG for the Bulldogs. The Steelers coaches may have some sorting out of exact positions along their OL, but overall I believe that unit is now back of high quality and able to assist QB PICKETT in his progression as an NFL Franchise QB.
Round 2, Pick 32 JOEY PORTER CB Penn State 6’3/195 PP Rank 18 The Steelers ownership has been a family affair for the ROONEY clan, and they have never hesitated to make their player selections a family affair if justified. PORTER’s dad, of the same name, was a blitzing sack master for the Steelers and this long armed (34″) young man is a fearless and physical press-cover Corner. Even though TOMLIN likes experience for his players expect PORTER to be too good to sit on the bench for long. He’ll learn by fire about the NFL. Destined for starting duty.
Round 3, Pick 49 KEEANU BENTON DT Wisconsin 6’4/310 PP Rank 42 BENTON is not a flash guy, but he’s big, strong and very athletic. Like the previous Picks he is a long athlete. At 310 lbs. his 5.08/40 was better than solid. He should make a solid piece in the DL rotation. CAM HEYWARD should also find him to be a dependable and eager to learn apprentice of sorts. He caught scouts eyes all week at the Senior Bowl venue, including mine.
Round 3, Pick 93 DARNELL WASHINGTON TE Georgia 6’7/265 PP Rank 31 Biggest issue, about this big guy, was from his medical concerns while at UGA. But I have to believe that the Steelers were satisfied that the big guy still had athletic life in his body left. He is like having a 6th OL in the run game. But he has also shown flashes of good hands and improving route running skills. Good enough to be quite a weapon if he stays healthy and accepts coaching as a receiver. On paper quite a solid young TE tandem in FREIERMUTH & WASHINGTON.
Round 4, Pick 132 NICK HERBIG LB Wisconsin 6’2/240 PP# 100 Speaking of family affairs… NICK is the younger brother of OL NATE HERBIG, who the Steelers just signed as a VFA this off-season. NICK showed some serious edge rush ability for the Badgers as well as athleticism. He’ll likely learn and develop as a LB back-up… for now.
Round 7, Pick 241 CORY TRICE DB Purdue 6’3/205 PP Rank # 95 I bought into the TRICE Band Wagon express after watching his work in the post season, including the Combine. He flashed serious athleticism, especially for his size. He ran a 4.47/40 in Indy and I frankly see him as an NFL S. He’s big value to my eyes for Round 7.
Round 7, Pick 251 SPENCER ANDERSON OL Maryland 6’5/305 PP Rank # 190 I caught a glimpse of this guy playing OT on the other end of the OL from JAELYN DUNCAN, who failed to live up to his pro potential hype last season. But ANDERSON showed the size and physicality you do want to see. More than ever I have become an advocate of “athleticism counts… a lot”, and it was RAS score from the “Math Bomb” that put ANDERSON just inside my Top 200. He received a RAS of 9.35, which is an elite number, and even higher than PETER SKORONSKI, who was graded as 9.31. There is more to playing in the NFL than athleticism, but it is usually a very important component. Might move inside and have a solid NFL career.
I believe in my ranking system overall for Draft prospects. Every Pick on this list of Draftees is ranked higher on my Player Rankings Board than where they were Drafted. So, needless to say, I like this Draft effort by the Steelers very much. If they had a couple more Picks I would likely have given them an A-, but…
Grade: B+ This group should help the Steelers roster depth significantly. And I would flat out project at least the first 4 to develop into starters, and soon.
Cheers
Pigskin
