With just under two months until the start of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, there is much still to happen across the NFL landscape that will drastically shape the direction for teams and decisions they make in the draft.
Free agency’s legal tampering window opens in around a week, which will send the offseason into a true frenzy as teams wheel and deal, adding players ahead of the 2024 season. The Pro Day circuit will be rather large, too, as teams get additional looks at prospects and see them measure in and test.
But right now, at least based on the offseason so far and the buzz surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers from a position of greatest need and prospects available, that draft plan in the first round might be clear as day, at least to an outside observer.
So far, Georgia hulking right tackle Amarius Mims is the clubhouse leader as the Steelers’ first-round draft pick.
In the last few draft cycles, there has typically been a player or two who has been connected to the Steelers right from the start and ultimately wound up becoming a Steelers draft pick.
In 2021, that player was running back Najee Harris. With James Conner set to hit free agency and the Steelers having a desire to land that true workhorse running back who fit what it means to be a Steelers running back, Harris was the guy talked about and speculated most about when it came to a landing spot with the Steelers in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Turned out, all that speculation was correct as the Steelers landed the Alabama star running back at No. 24 overall.
Heck, even tight end Pat Freiermuth coming out of Penn State was a popular name that was consistently tied to the Steelers. Tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts was seen at the Penn State Pro Day that year, putting Freiermuth through workouts and then showing him love after the Pro Day. Freiermuth became a Steeler at No. 55 overall in 2021.
In 2022, the guy right next door, quarterback Kenny Pickett, was tied to the Steelers quite often. Pickett had a record-setting year for the Panthers in 2022 while leading Pitt to an Atlantic Coast Conference championship and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. His foray into the NFL draft aligned perfectly with the Steelers’ need following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. At No. 20 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, Pickett stayed in the Steel City.
Last year, it was Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and even Wisconsin defensive lineman Keeanu Benton. Porter was talked about ad nauseam as a likely Steelers draft pick due to the bloodlines and the overall connection to the franchise. Hometown kid, son of a franchise legend, played a position of clear need. It all aligned.
You can even go back to 2019 with Michigan linebacker Devin Bush and recall how the Steelers viewed him. Michigan man, team leader, played a position of clear need and had a skill set the Steelers desired at the position.
All the dots lined up and led to selections of these players in the NFL draft. The Steelers aren’t shy about hiding their interests and their intentions. That makes our job here at Steelers Depot a bit easier during this time of year, allowing us to track and really home in one a few likely selections.
So far, the most likeliest seems to be Mims.
The Steelers have liked the Georgia program quite a bit in recent years, drafting Broderick Jones, Darnell Washington, and George Pickens the last two years. It helps that Georgia churns out outstanding talent coming out of the SEC. But there’s something deeper to that Georgia program for the Steelers. And now, Mims might be that next Bulldog who lands in Pittsburgh.
Names like NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, Bucky Brooks, and Lance Zierlein have paired the Steelers with Mims in recent mock drafts. So, too, have The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and ESPN’s Jordan Reid in recent days coming out of the NFL Scouting Combine, which is certainly eye-opening. Brugler even had the Steelers trading up in the first round of his latest mock to land Mims, much like they did for Jones last year.
Mims plugs a hole in the trenches and would give the Steelers another high upside Georgia product along the offensive line. Though he played in just eight career games in college, Mims’ tape is quite strong, and his measurements (6076, 340, 36 1/8-inch arms) and testing numbers (5.07 40-yard dash, 1.78 10-yard split) at the Combine really opened eyes.
He pulled up lame on one of his 40-yard attempts and said he tweaked his hamstring, Mims wasn’t able to finish position drills at the Combine, but he generated quite a bit of buzz with his measurables and initial testing results. Now, all eyes shift to Georgia’s Pro Day on March 13 in Athens. The Steelers are likely going to be heavily represented there.
That would certainly check a box.
There’s still a lot of time now between now and the 2024 NFL Draft at the end of April. But once again, there is a leader in the clubhouse from the start as a potential draft pick for the Black and Gold.
Don’t be surprised if Amarius Mims is that guy the whole way throughout the process for the Steelers. It’s happened before, and it could happen again.
