In just one week, the 2024 NFL Draft will get underway in Detroit, ending a long, winding road that is the pre-draft process.
We’ll start to learn where teams rank prospects on their individual boards, which positions they value more than others, and — most importantly — where players will be early in their NFL careers.
What we know right now is that the offensive tackle class is very strong in this draft. At least six will be drafted in the first round, with a handful of them going inside the top 10 picks. That could create quite the dilemma for the Steelers, who have a major need at the position entering the draft.
Names such as Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga, Georgia’s Amarius Mims, Washington’s Troy Fautanu and Alabama’s JC Latham have been connected to the Steelers throughout the pre-draft process, but all four could be off the board when the Steelers are on the clock at No. 20. Of course, the Steelers could trade up to ensure they get one of the tackles, but if GM Omar Khan does not move up and stands pat, it could create a difficult decision: draft a tackle or address one of center, wide receiver or cornerback.
For The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who appeared on the PFF Football Show with Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson, while the tackle class is relatively deep, teams that don’t land a tackle in the first round of the draft won’t love their options on Day 2.
“…You look at this tackle class, I think it falls off in the second round,” Brugler said, according to video via PFF on YouTube. “There’s talent there. You can find guys that should be able to start eventually in the NFL. But I do think there is a drop-off that if you don’t get your tackle in the first round, I don’t know that you’re gonna love your options on Day 2.
“And so, those few options are gonna be off the board quickly. So even though tackle is a strong position this year, it’s more top-heavy than deep.”
That is the concern for the Steelers and where they are picking in the first round of the draft.
Throughout much of the process, the Steelers have been linked heavily to Mims, Fautanu and Fuaga, but as the draft draws closer, Duke center Graham Barton has been the name that has really emerged for the Steelers as the most talked about pick at No. 20. Barton would certainly address a glaring need as the Steelers currently do not have a true center on the roster.
But if Barton were to be the pick, it would take the Steelers out of the tackle market for the time being and have them looking to address the position on Day 2 or Day 3, which then becomes a concern.
Names like Notre Dame’s Blake Fisher, Pittsburgh’s Matt Goncalves and Georgia State’s Travis Glover are ones to remember when it comes to Day 2 and Day 3 of the draft at tackle, but none of those names leave anyone feeling great about the position for the Steelers moving forward.
It’s a tough call: draft a tackle who might not play right away in the first round like a Mims, trade up for a plug-and-play starter in Fuaga, Latham or Fautanu and then try to maneuver to get a center early on Day 2, or sit tight and take the best player on your board, regardless of position.
That’s why Omar Khan earns the big bucks though.
