The Pittsburgh Steelers have decisions to make come the NFL Draft. One of the biggest is what do they want to address first, defense or offense? Today, Fox Sports came out with a mock draft and has the Steelers addressing their offensive line with the 17th pick in the draft.
Ralph Vacchiano and Ben Arthur teamed to come up with a first round mock draft and has Pittsburgh selecting Tennessee tackle Darnell Wright in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
“The Steelers used first-round picks on quarterback Kenny Pickett and running back Najee Harris in the last two years,” wrote Vacchiano and Arthur. “Now it’s time to invest up front to help them. Tennessee’s Darnell Wright could challenge for starting jobs at both tackle spots (the incumbents are Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor), and could potentially kick inside if necessary.”
The Steelers have shown interest in Wright, but may not necessarily view him at a tackle, with Jeremy Fowler saying the team could view him as a guard. Wright stands at 6’5″ and weighs 333 pounds, meaning he has the size to be a fit at either guard or tackle.
However, this shouldn’t be an issue as the Steelers may want to upgrade at left guard from Kevin Dotson anyway, meaning that even if the team doesn’t view Wright as a tackle doesn’t mean there isn’t interest. In fact, despite the consensus being interior offensive lineman are less important that tackles, Pittsburgh has not followed that way of thinking. The Steelers last drafted a tackle in the first round of the NFL Draft in 1996, with that being Jamain Stephens. Since then they have drafted two guards in the first round, Alan Faneca in 1998 and David DeCastro in 2012.
According to PFF, Wright did not allow a sack in 2022 and finished the year with a grade of 71.4. The ability of Wright to play multiple positions and possibly even move inside will be appealing for Pittsburgh come draft day. A 2022 First Team All-SEC member and 2019 Freshman All-SEC member, Wright has the accolades to be a high pick.
If you would like to see a tape breakdown of Wright, our own Chandler Stroud did one on him back in January.
