The Pittsburgh Steelers had a lot of draft capital at the top of the 2023 NFL Draft. They had missed the playoffs and naturally had a higher pick than they normally do, starting off the event with the 17th overall selection in the first round. They also ended up with the 32nd overall selection due to the Chase Claypool trade with the Chicago Bears. The trade was for the Bears’ second-round selection but because they placed dead last in the league in 2022, it was the top pick of the second round. The Miami Dolphins also forfeited their first-round selection, so the Steelers’ pick ended up being the 32nd pick, which would normally be the last pick of the first round.
CBS Sports analyst Ryan Wilson did a 2023 re-draft exercise to give his take on how things would have played out in hindsight if given all the data from these rookies’ first 12 weeks of play. The Steelers ultimately traded up to the 14th pick of the first round to select OT Broderick Jones, so this exercise keeps them at 14, rather than their initial 17th pick.
By the time the Steelers picked in this exercise, CB Joey Porter Jr. had just gone of the board the pick before to the Green Bay Packers. It would make sense for the Steelers to stand pat and just take Jones in this situation, right? Wilson went a different direction and had the Steelers taking CB Brian Branch out of Alabama. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 45th overall selection in the second round, so he shot up the boards in this re-draft exercise. It is easy to see why, as he has had a solid start to his career. He is a physical corner who has been great in run support, being given an 87.5 run defense grade by Pro Football Focus. He has 44 solo tackles and one interception in six starts. Here is what Wilson wrote about selecting Branch.
“The Steelers need to address the O-line, as they started the season with Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor at left and right tackle. Cornerback is also a need — but so too is the nickel position, and Brian Branch was a first-round talent until his 4.58-second 40-yard dash scared some teams off. That time shouldn’t have had any effect on his draft stock because he plays much faster than that and would be an immediate impact player in Pittsburgh.”
The Steelers’ actual first two picks, Jones and Porter went 13th and 15th, the two picks surrounding the Steelers. Ultimately these types of exercises are meaningless, but it is nice to see two Steelers rookies in the top half of the draft. GM Omar Kahn and Assistant GM Andy Weidl’s first go around in control of setting and selecting from the draft board seems like an early success.
