In anticipation to the Pittsburgh Steelers second preseason game on Saturday, I wanted to look at a few things before I can dive into information after the game. In the preseason, we get an opportunity to see more action from younger players generally, so I wanted to put a table together of how the 2023 draft played out for Pittsburgh and the Buffalo Bills heading into the game:
Other than getting a reminder of how the draft went for both teams, I also saw some fun takeaways. The Steelers made seven selections in the draft, while the Bills came away with six players. Buffalo prioritized offense in terms of quantity with four of their picks, particularly in round two and day three, while Pittsburgh leaned towards the defensive side of the ball at similar points round wise.
Zooming in on Buffalo’s draft, they kicked things off by trading up for tight end Dalton Kincaid with the 25th pick. He has seemingly had a good camp, but was dealing with back issues. Kincaid is slotted in as their TE2 on the depth chart currently, and is known by most for his receiving and route running abilities. In his NFL debut in the preseason opener, he played just five offensive snaps and wasn’t targeted in the pass game. It will be interesting to see what this looks like against Pittsburgh, and want to see how the new linebacker room fares against this challenge if it presents itself.
In round two, the Bills selected offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence at 59 overall, a player our own Jonathan Heitritter was high on early in the process, with size, strength, and experience. He is listed as the backup right guard on their latest depth chart, battling for a starters role. He started and played all 23 of his offensive snaps there in his NFL debut last week. Torrence seemed to play well overall, particularly as a pass blocker, and hope this presents a good battle with the Steelers interior pass rush that ate last game.
With the 91st pick in the third round, Buffalo selected linebacker Dorian Williams, another name the Steelers Depot team thought was a good potential fit in Pittsburgh. He got a good amount of playing time in the preseason opener with 31 defensive snaps, and led the team in tackles with seven, with the majority coming in the passing game. It will be interesting to see if he shows up against the Steelers, and particularly interested to see how the potential battle shakes out with Pittsburgh’s running back room.
With no fourth round pick, the Bills next draftee was wide receiver Justin Shorter at pick 150 in the fifth round. He played 17 offensive snaps last game, but seemed like a quiet outing with no targets, and is a depth piece in a strong position room at Buffalo. Can’t wait to see how the Steelers fare against this challenge, considering the Bills are expected to play their starters a good amount.
Both teams had another lull, with neither team having a six-round pick, followed by two selections from each squad in the seventh round. At 230 overall, Buffalo selected offensive lineman Nick Broeker. He played 19 offensive snaps at left guard in the preseason opener, and allowed a pressure in the pass game. The final pick in this matchup was cornerback Alex Austin at pick 252, playing 22 defensive snaps primarily on the outside.
Of course, I’m even more excited to see the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie class. Left tackle and 14th overall pick Broderick Jones put some encouraging things on film, but had some ups and downs that come from many rookies their first go round, including two pressures allowed and a holding penalty. He played the most offensive snaps for the Steelers in the preseason opener (49), encouraging context to his performance and his lack of starting experience in college. Considering the battle at hand with incumbent left tackle Dan Moore, it will be interesting to see what Jones’ second outing looks like, along with Moore since the starters are expected to get more burn.
The Steelers had the luxury of two second round picks in the 2023 draft, starting with cornerback Joey Porter Jr at pick 32. He did not appear in the preseason opener, and after returning to practice this week seems set to make his Steelers debut. I’m sure most of you are well aware by now of how meaningful his donning of the black and gold means, following in his father Joey Porter’s footsteps as a legendary Steeler they were obviously very interested in. Porter Jr. has had an impressive camp overall, with playmaking and his size/length on full display, and can’t wait to hopefully see him in game action finally.
Defensive lineman Keeanu Benton was encouragingly available to Pittsburgh at pick 49. He had a rather impressive NFL debut, with three tackles, all three stifling stops in the run game, including this impressive one for a loss, along with two pressures in 28 snaps last Friday. Benton’s training camp and preseason opener were very encouraging, and here’s to hoping he can keep this momentum going Saturday to earn more playing time come the regular season. Really hoping this turns into a starters role that could be very valuable given his three-down skillset.
Pittsburgh double dipped on Georgia products, with another player that was surprisingly still available, third round tight end Darnell Washington at pick 93. He played 25 offensive snaps in his first opportunity, with a short catch over the middle including YAC for a first down, and encouragingly showed some of his blocking traits that made him intriguing and a great fit in Pittsburgh. There were some missed opportunities in the latter though, and hoping we see more consistency along this preseason journey.
In round four the Steelers double dipped again, this time out of the University of Wisconsin with the selection of edge rusher Nick Herbig at pick 132. He also had a fantastic debut, highlighted by 1.5 sacks in just 13 defensive snaps. He also showed some encouraging things against the run, very encouraging to see in an NFL stadium with many evaluators concerned if he could hold up in that regard on the edge. This is of course the preseason, and came against backups, but my main hope being that he can stack another strong performance (or two) particularly against the run.
After a long wait until the seventh round, Pittsburgh made two selections. The first was another cornerback with size/length in Cory Trice Jr at pick 241. Things were going well for the skilled corner in training camp overall, but very sadly suffered a season ending injury. The Steelers closed out their strong 2023 draft with the selection of offensive lineman Spencer Anderson. One of his main attributes is versatility, playing all five spots on the line in camp. That was put on display last game with 37 offensive snaps, including left guard (17), right guard (13), right tackle (seven), along with five special teams snaps. He fared well overall, particularly as a pass blocker, earning an 84.6 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus which ranked 17th among all guards in week one of the preseason. It will be interesting to see where he plays in this opportunity, considering he even got snaps at center in recent practices, and hoping to see him show more in the run game regardless of alignment to help stake his claim on the 53-man roster.
Which rookies are you most excited to see? Who are your favorites to perform well (if they play)? How about non-rookies? Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
