In the days following the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers received plenty of praise for the talent that they had accumulated, at least on paper.
On the field, that talent showed up in a big way, helping the Steelers go 10-7 on the year and reach the AFC playoffs where they lost in the Wild Card Round.
For their efforts, the Steelers’ rookie class of offensive tackle Broderick Jones, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., defensive lineman Keeanu Benton, tight end Darnell Washington, outside linebacker Nick Herbig, cornerback Cory Trice Jr. and offensive lineman Spencer Anderson received some high marks from NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter.
In a piece Wednesday afternoon handing out grades for rookie classes in the AFC North, Reuter gave the Steelers a ‘A’ grade, the best in the division.
“Jones began the year backing up Dan Moore [Jr.] at left tackle, starting [once], and then stepped in on the right side when veteran Chuks Okorafor was benched for some comments that apparently irked coach Mike Tomlin. (Okorafor was recently released),” Reuter writes regarding the Steelers’ first round draft pick. “As expected, Jones was an athletic and feisty blocker for the Steelers down the stretch and should be a long-time starter at either tackle spot, depending on how the team approaches the offseason.”
The Steelers traded up from No. 17 to No. 14 to acquire Jones out of Georgia, and though he ended up playing a key role in the second half of the season, it was out of position at right tackle. Jones started 10 games at right tackle and one game at left tackle.
He provided a real edge to the offensive line, especially in the run game, giving the Steelers a real attitude in the trenches that had been missing. Though Jones struggled late in the season from a protection standpoint, the future still looks relatively bright for Jones, especially if a move back to the left side is in the cards this offseason.
The gems of the draft class (so far) are Porter and Benton, two guys who played pivotal roles for the Steelers’ defense and flashed signs of dominance throughout the 2023 season.
“Porter was no legacy pick as the son of the famed Steelers pass rusher of the same name; the team saw great value sitting there with the first pick of the second round,” Reuter writes. “After a few weeks, Porter became a starter, and he gave up just one touchdown the entire season, according to Next Gen Stats, earning a spot among Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists. I expect he’ll be joining his dad among the ranks of NFL Pro Bowlers in the near future.
“Like Porter, Benton played in every contest, and his strength and athleticism were evident throughout. The selection of the hustling Herbig (three sacks) as a strong reserve gave the Steelers a trifecta of excellent rookies who immediately improved all three levels of defense. Washington was such a perfect fit for Pittsburgh; it’s no surprise that he logged a lot of snaps.”
Once he moved into the starting lineup in Week Eight against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, Porter showed just how talented he is, and what a building block he will be long-term for the Steelers in the secondary.
Porter’s length and physicality in coverage stood out right away. He was able to take away top receivers throughout the season, handling the top matchups weekly in impressive fashion. He had a pivotal interception in Week Five against the Baltimore Ravens in the end zone in a 17-10 win, which was his only interception of the season. Outside of that though he clamped down on receivers time and time again.
The only time he really struggled in coverage was against Seattle’s DK Metcalf in Week 17.
The future looks incredibly bright for Porter. It appears that the Steelers have hit a home run at the position in landing Porter in the second round.
As for Benton, he generated 22 pressures on the year and really flashed an impressive club/swim move that allowed him to win time and time again on the interior as a pass rusher. He also had an impressive bull rush, displaying the eye-opening power that was his calling card at Wisconsin.
Tomlin stated that Benton can be a dominant force sooner rather than later, which is quite accurate. However, Benton needs to clean up his run defense, which was an issue at times as a rookie.
Overall, the Steelers’ rookie class was quite impressive. Herbig looks like a good rotational edge defender with an impressive skill set as a pass rusher while Washington had some strong moments as a blocker but needs to take that next step as a receiving option.
Anderson didn’t see any meaningful snaps as a rookie, but he remains intriguing depth due to his positional versatility. Meanwhile, Trice is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in training camp and has the size, length and athleticism that is very intriguing to the Steelers at the cornerback position.
Heck of a haul by GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl right after the draft — and now after the season.
