Every year, CBS Sports puts together an exercise consisting of free agency in a mock draft format. With “draft” order decided by projected available cap space, Cody Benjamin finds the best fit for each team in its slot. The Steelers slotted in with the No. 25 selection and took Carolina Panthers LB Frankie Luvu.
It’s worth noting that some players were excluded as CBS put them as likely to re-sign or get the franchise tag. The excluded players included Chicago Bears CB Jaylon Johnson, a player to whom Pittsburgh was linked at the 2023 trade deadline. Benjamin thinks Luvu’s ability to blitz could pair well with T.J. Watt.
“A QB like Ryan Tannehill would make sense here, but the Steelers have been swinging at linebackers for years,” Benjamin writes. “Luvu finally gives them a fast, physical, ascending playmaker whose blitzing skills should pair nicely with those of T.J. Watt.”
The Luvu selection makes some measure of sense if the Steelers move him inside, but he plays as an outside linebacker in Carolina. That wouldn’t make sense for the Steelers, who already have Watt and Alex Highsmith. Highsmith is coming off another very impressive season, and the Steelers likely aren’t going to target another outside linebacker in free agency, especially not someone who would want to start like Luvu.
Andre James, a center, went two picks after Pittsburgh took Luvu in this exercise, and James would be a much better fit for the Steelers. While the exercise itself is supposed to pair teams with the best free-agent fit given available cap space, the Steelers could’ve addressed cornerback by bringing back Steven Nelson or center with James, two players who went after Luvu and play positions that are much bigger needs for the Steelers.
These exercises are obviously just for fun as there is no free-agency draft. But it does give some insight into what teams around the league are targeting and some potential player-team fits. For example, no running back was picked until Saquon Barkley at No. 29, who went to the Los Angeles Chargers. It speaks to the lack of RB-needy teams and not much of a market for the position, a trend over the last few years.
Former Steelers G Kevin Dotson was also selected in this exercise, heading back to the AFC with the Jacksonville Jaguars. They grabbed him at No. 19, one spot ahead of the Baltimore Ravens beefing up their secondary with the addition of CB Stephon Gilmore.
While I don’t foresee Luvu becoming a Steeler, he is a very talented player who had 125 total tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2023, one of the lone bright spots on a Panthers team that struggled all season. Free agency will kick off for real on March 13, and we’ll learn who actually will become a Steeler. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team take a flier on a veteran like James to have some depth at center.
