In anticipation to the Pittsburgh Steelers first preseason game on Friday night, 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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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 Buccaneers came away with eight players. The defensive side of the ball was prioritized a bit more in terms of quantity, with Tampa Bay making five picks on that side of the ball, compared to Pittsburgh’s four.
The Steelers had more balance in these terms this time around than their previously offensive heavy 2022 draft, including an even split on the first two days, then leaned towards defense with their final three selections. Tampa Bay had three selections through round three (two on defense), then made an interesting clump of picks that landed in the middle of day three, with two in the fifth round and three in the sixth, with three of the five on defense.
Zooming in on the Bucs draft further, they kicked things off with a familiar name to many Steelers fans, with defensive lineman Calijah Kancey out of Pittsburgh with the 19th pick. He was a very productive player excelling as an interior penetrator in college with athleticism (9.6 RAS). The Bucs listed him as a starting defensive end on their initial depth chart and has reportingly been playing well, a likely better fit positionally in the pros given his size. The start of his NFL journey will seemingly have to wait though, suffering a calf strain in practice that has Kancey listed as questionable for the contest.
In round two, Tampa Bay selected offensive lineman Cody Mauch with the 48th pick, a player that impressed many of us here at Steelers Depot in the pre-draft process. He is athletic (9.33 RAS) and has displayed attractive versatility to play all five spots on the line. Mauch is slotted in as the team’s starting right guard, has also been reportingly performing well in camp, and their pick that I’m most excited to see.
With the 82nd pick in the third round, YaYa Diaby became a Buccaneer. Our own Alex Kozora noted in his draft profile that Diaby was utilized as an undersized 3-4 base end at Louisville, and has been reportedly impressing as an edge rusher, a position that will likely suit him better at the NFL level. He kept the Buccaneers’ trend of drafting athleticism going (9.87 RAS), and interested to see him if he indeed plays. Would be great to see him match up against Steelers first-round offensive tackle Broderick Jones.
With no fourth-round pick, Tampa Bay then had back-to-back selections in the fifth round. The first was another familiar name to many Steelers fans, with the Bucs drafting their second player from the University of Pittsburgh in linebacker SirVocea Dennis. The other was tight end Payne Durham, a player I enjoyed in the draft process, and hopefully we see both in Friday night’s battle.
A stockpile of three sixth-round picks followed for the Bucs, defensive back Josh Hayes, wide receiver Trey Palmer, and another edge rusher in Jose Ramirez. Hayes is a physical and hard-hitting type of player, while Palmer has elite speed, and Ramirez has a good skill set but lacks ideal size for the position.
Of course, I’m even more excited to see the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie class. Seeing how 14th overall pick Broderick Jones performs will be very interesting, considering the battle at hand with incumbent left tackle Dan Moore. Jones has intriguing tools and athleticism (9.58 RAS) I’m excited to see in-game action, and a hard worker, but has had ups and downs in camp. Not too alarming in my opinion with his lack of college starting experience compared to many early draft picks. I can’t wait to see it play out and what the Steelers ultimately decide on the very important blindside for quarterback Kenny Pickett.
The Steelers had the luxury of two second-round picks in the 2023 draft, starting with cornerback Joey Porter Jr at pick 32. 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 see him in-game action. He was notably limited in Wednesday’s practice, and knock on wood this doesn’t postpone his debut.
Defensive lineman Keeanu Benton was encouragingly available to Pittsburgh at pick 49, a player Kozora identified right out of the gate in the pre-draft process as a great fit with the size, length, and strength they look for. It will be very interesting to see how Benton fares on the interior, with the starting defensive tackle role up for grabs. This would be huge if things continue to go well, earning him a starter’s role next to Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi as Pittsburgh’s initial depth chart indicates.
Pittsburgh double-dipped on Georgia products, with another player that was surprisingly still available, third-round tight end Darnell Washington at pick 93. With his size and blocking ability, his performance has really turned up since the pads have come on. This will definitely be exciting to see in stadiums, along with his impact as a red zone target in training camp hopefully translating to game action. How things develop will be huge to the run-first identity Pittsburgh wants to play with, and here’s to hoping Washington performs well as a key cog to those goals.
In round four the Steelers double-dipped again, this time out of the University of Wisconsin with the selection of Nick Herbig at pick 132. The big story in the pre-draft process was that many believed he would need to make a position change from edge rusher to linebacker at the NFL level due to a lack of size. He was very successful on the edge in college, particularly as a pass rusher, where Pittsburgh decided to continue playing him out of the gate. That has certainly paid off thus far, holding his own in this regard and stacking several impressive practices in camp. Herbig was also unfortunately limited in Wednesday’s practice, and really hoping he’s able to play.
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, with Kozora stating Anderson has primarily played tackle, along with guard in this training camp podcast. Really interested to see how he fares in NFL game action, and if he can perform well to maximize his varied alignment experience which is extremely valuable for reserve players, and as 53-man roster decisions are made.
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.
