Ever since the 2023 season ended, various outlets have put out lists grading each team’s rookie class. Most of those lists have been pretty favorable to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ group from the 2023 NFL Draft. They got a lot of playing time out of the group. It wasn’t the perfect season for all of them, but many contributed in a big way to the success of the team, especially down the stretch of the season. Not every analyst agrees that the Steelers struck gold with their rookie class, however. The Athletic’s Diante Lee sees the group as just slightly above average, giving it a C-plus grade.
In an article posted on Thursday morning by The Athletic, Lee re-graded the 2023 NFL Draft for each team and grouped each team into tiers. For the Steelers, their C-plus grade was grouped into the “small short-term gains, high long-term potential” tier. Here is what Lee wrote:
“The play of Joey Porter Jr. (No. 32) was as advertised — he showed the same physicality that made him a standout prospect. Up front, Keeanu Benton (No. 49) still has a bit to learn about winning with power as a nose tackle, but he flashed when he was freed up to penetrate and run twists. Nick Herbig (No. 132) popped as a speed rusher in Pittsburgh’s rotation, too.
“I’ll be interested to see what comes of Darnell Washington’s (No. 93) role. He’s an excellent athlete, but he’s much further along as a blocker than receiver.”
Starting from the top of the draft class, OT Broderick Jones wasn’t even mentioned in this exercise. He wasn’t perfect, and struggled in pass protection towards the end of the season, but he flashed a ton of good stuff on the field as a run blocker. From the moment he was inserted into the starting lineup in Week 9 at right tackle, the team’s rushing attack came alive and finished the season as one of the best in the league after struggling for the first half of the season. And that was all with Jones playing out of his natural left tackle position, where the team plans to move him back to at some point.
Porter earned his first start in Week 8, and quickly turned into one of the better corners in the league. Not only did he allow very little into his coverage he did so while covering top competition. From DeAndre Hopkins and Amari Cooper to Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, Porter shadowed them and showed off his physicality and cover skills. He allowed one reception every 19.7 coverage snaps, per Pro Football Focus, the third-best mark in the league among cornerbacks.
Benton was forced into action early with an injury to Cameron Heyward in Week 1 and was pretty disruptive with 22 total pressures, including eight QB hits and a sack. He was a close second to being the team’s top rookie behind Porter.
Washington saw the field earlier than any rookie and was used primarily as a blocker. He figures to be a valuable piece in Arthur Smith’s offense, which likes to run the ball and use multiple-tight end sets, and he still has the athleticism and catch radius to be a weapon in the red zone at the very least.
Herbig was a rotational player but made the most of the few opportunities he got, including two forced fumbles and three sacks, one of which won the Steelers their game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17 while pushing for a playoff berth. He figures to be a solid third in the rotation behind Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt for now, and he proved he can be productive with limited opportunities.
CB Cory Trice Jr. was injured in training camp, but the early reports were mostly positive on his potential, and OL Spencer Anderson impressed the team in training camp last season enough to be carried on the roster all season.
So I agree with Lee’s analysis of high long-term potential for the group, but it is hard to argue that the rookies didn’t also provide plenty of value in their first season. It is one of the stronger draft classes that the team has had over the last several seasons. There are at least three players, and probably more, who will be building blocks for the next era of the franchise.
