The Steelers are now in their offseason after failing to reach the playoffs in 2022, coming up just a game short of sneaking in as the seventh seed. They needed help in week 18 and only got some of it, so instead they sat home and watched the playoffs with the rest of us.
On tap is figuring out how to be on the field in January and February instead of being a spectator. They started out 2-6, digging a hole that proved too deep to dig out of even if they managed to go 7-2 in the second half of the year.
Starting from the end of the regular season and leading all the way up to the beginning of the 2023 season, there are plenty of questions that need answered, starting with who will be the offensive coordinator. Which free agents will be kept? Who might be let go due to their salary? How might they tackle free agency with this new front office? How will they tackle the NFL Draft? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout this offseason, as we have for many years.
Question: What is your favorite pick from the Steelers’ draft this past weekend?
We ask the same kind of questions every year after the draft for one simple reason: we as fans have the same kinds of conversations every year. We parse things every which way, up and down, left and right, so we might as well have some sense of organization about it.
Today we’re going to cover a simple topic: which pick was your favorite? Moreso than in most years, I think, we should get a variety of answers, albeit likely slanted heavily toward the first two days of the draft, from which there are four options.
While they did have to move up a few spots to get him, the Steelers used their first-round selection on Georgia tackle Broderick Jones, whom one would expect should have a good chance of claiming a starting job at some point during his rookie year.
Holding the first pick in the second round thanks to the Chase Claypool trade, they were also able to get one of their other top first-round targets with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. still available at 32. Coming back later in the round, they addressed the defensive line with Keeanu Benton, who should give them that presence in the middle of the defensive line they’ve been missing.
Rounds three and four brought in a big tight end whose stock fell in Darnell Washington, followed by a slightly undersized pass rusher in Nick Herbig, whom the Steelers have said that they intend at this point to leave on the edge.
After a long wait, Pittsburgh added two more players in the seventh round, another long corner in Cory Trice Jr. and a versatile offensive lineman, Spencer Anderson. I’m not sure how many votes Anderson will get, honestly, but if we’re talking about value, Trice might win some.
