While consensus isn’t universal, I think the prevailing sense is that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dream draft scenario is landing a starting right tackle with their first-round draft pick. Chances they will have at least one qualified candidate by the time they pick, without trading up. Brian Baldinger laid out the players he believes fit that scenario best for the Steelers.
“I think JC Latham would probably fit that mold right there”, he told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller yesterday on 93.7 The Fan. “[Taliese] Fuaga could fit that mold. Amarius Mims could fit that mold. I mean, just true right tackles, guys that have just lined up at right tackle”.
Asked to clarify if the order in which he listed the tackles is the order he would rank them, he said he thinks so. He also went on to talk about Fuaga’s position versatility and suggested he believes he’ll be a better guard.
Latham isn’t a name that comes up quite as often in connection with the Steelers as some others. Perhaps he should, though. He has two full years of starting experience, including nearly 1,900 snaps played. At 6-6, 342 pounds, he certainly has the size the Steelers look for. He’s not going to impress you a great deal out in space, but he’s also not Max Starks. Potentially, he could drop some weight and improve his athleticism, as Marcus Gilbert did early in his career.
Fuaga isn’t a small man by any means, either, and some on the beat believe the Steelers like him the most. As for Mims, we’ve talked about him more than perhaps any other draft candidate, certainly any other tackle. He’s possibly the most gifted lineman in the last couple classes, but he’s also a slight gamble because he’s inexperienced.
However, any one of those three players named could potentially fill a hole in the starting lineup for a decade. Granted, there’s always more optimism before the draft than there is five years after it. Are all there of those players going to bloom into quality starters for years to come? Likely not, though hopefully the one the Steelers pick does.
And the Steelers aren’t even guaranteed to pick one of them, or even a first-round tackle. They could easily focus on a center, and Graham Barton has been gaining traction. Indeed, Barton is potential a five-position player, with his primary college experience at tackle. There are serious questions about his sustained viability on the perimeter at the NFL level, however.
In terms of likelihood, I think Latham and Mims stand a better chance of being available at 20 than Fuaga. All three, however, have a realistic chance of being on the board at that point, and it’s a virtual certainty at least one of them will. If none of them are, then there probably isn’t a tackle left worth drafting at 20.
