While Day Three of each NFL Draft, rounds four through seven, are reserved for the die hards than the casual fan, the final 150 picks in 2024 could be a struggle for teams to make. As outlined by Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy on Twitter Sunday morning, he offered a warning that this year’s depth has been “completely wiped out.”
In the tweet, he said his board of fifth to seventh rounders “fell apart” citing a combination of factors. NIL money has reduced the benefit of going to the NFL for financial need, the 2020 COVID year has granted players extra eligibility, and only 54 underclassmen declared for this year’s draft, teams will struggle to fill out their draft classes.
The Steelers are currently slated to make four selections on Day Three of this year’s draft. They benefit from having a pair of fourth round picks as part of the Kevin Dotson trade with the Los Angeles Rams, acquiring an extra fourth rounder in exchange for a fifth round pick (and a 2025 pick swap). Pittsburgh will finish things out making one selection in the sixth and seventh round.
Over their last two classes, the organization has hit on the draft’s final day. In 2023, fourth rounder Nick Herbig became great value, a core special teamer and impactful defensive player despite limited snaps. If Markus Golden leaves in free agency, Herbig will ascend as the team’s clear-cut No. 3 outside linebacker behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, offering him more opportunity. Seventh round CB Cory Trice Jr. looked promising in the brief time he was on the field before tearing his ACL in the team’s first padded practice. And the final pick of the draft, OL Spencer Anderson, did well to make the team and dress each week, even if he didn’t log a non-kneeldown offensive snap.
In 2022, the team beat expectations with TE Connor Heyward, a versatile piece, and LB Mark Robinson, still earning coaches trust but a capable run-down hitter.
Still, Pittsburgh hasn’t truly found a Day Three gem in quite some time. The last one who truly qualifies was LB Vince Williams, a sixth round selection in 2013. While finding solid-level starters in the final few rounds won’t happen often, the Steelers had more success a decade ago with Williams in 2013, OT Kelvin Beachum in 2012, WR Antonio Brown in 2010, and CB William Gay in 2007.
If there’s a clear criticism of Kevin Colbert’s final classes, it’s less so about whiffing on early picks as it was the lack of success in the later rounds. Even their undrafted hit rate sunk, completely whiffing on multiple classes (to where most of the UDFAs wouldn’t even make the Week One practice squad), with the only saving grace coming from RB Jaylen Warren.
Based on Nagy’s outlook of the situation, finding that gem will be even harder this April.
