The 2024 NFL Draft is just four days away, so most everybody in the football media is submitting their final iterations of mock drafts. This one is a little different, as former NFL GM Rick Spielman teamed up with Ryan Wilson via CBS Sports and ran a full mock draft on Mock Draft Database. They simulated all picks, and selected for the Pittsburgh Steelers based on the website’s native big board rankings. Since they aggregate all mock drafts they can find, it is essentially a public big board that is crowd sourced from every media member’s mock drafts. There is always some element of randomness with these simulators, but the way things fell was very favorable for the Steelers.
1:20 – OT Taliese Fuaga – Oregon State
With the Steelers on the clock in the first round, they had a number of great options available including Graham Barton, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Brian Thomas Jr., Brock Bowers, and Taliese Fuaga.
“You know, you need a center really bad, but if [Taliese] Fuaga is there, how can you pass up this talent that’s at tackle? You have to take the tackle position,” Spielman said in a clip of the segment With The First Pick posted on YouTube. “So if Fuaga is there, my pick would be Taliese Fuaga from Oregon State.”
For my money, this would be the ideal situation for the Steelers. He maybe doesn’t have the high ceiling and potential that comes with Amarius Mims, but he is plug-and-play at right tackle and allows Broderick Jones to flip back over to the left side. Fuaga has the nasty demeanor that a road-grading right tackle should have, and he is a solid athlete to allow him to succeed in space and cutting off speed rushers off the edge.
At 6056, 324 pounds, with 33 1/8-inch arms, he has all the tools he needs to succeed, and could help solidify the tackle position for the Steelers for the next several years opposite Jones.
2:51 – C Zach Frazier – West Virginia
This next pick, there was very little deliberation. If one of the top three centers falls to you at 51, you run up to the stage to submit your draft card.
“That’s a layup. Do it,” Spielman said when he saw that Frazier was still available.
Frazier is the most experienced of the big three at the position with 2,606 center snaps in college. That is over double Jackson Powers-Johnson and Graham Barton’s college center snaps combined. He is tough as nails, has violent hands, and has a great understanding of leverage due to his wrestling background.
3:84 – WR Jalen McMillan – Washington
This pick presented the first real dilemma with several of the top receivers and corners already off the board. In the end, they decided that there was a big drop off after McMillan. The corners available included Renardo Green, Khyree Jackson, Kris Abrams-Draine, Andru Phillips, and Cam Hart. Fortunately, the Steelers have two third-round picks. Assuming they go with offensive line prospects in round one and two, as many think they will, it will be very interesting to see who is still available at WR and CB which are the other two glaring needs.
“I’m going to go, because I like McMillan and we definitely need receiver help, let’s go with McMillan here because I think there’s a drop off after that,” Spielman said. “And then let’s pray that potentially a corner that we like will still be there at 98.”
McMillan is one of the better route runners in this draft class, and could help replace the skill set lost with trading away Diontae Johnson.
Jalen McMillan Scouting Report
3:98 – CB Renardo Green – FSU
They took the gamble on passing on a corner with the first pick in the third round, and it paid off as they were happy to select Green out of FSU. Still available to them at the position was Phillips and Jackson.
“People are gonna be mad,” Spielman said with other options still on the board. “I love this kids physicalness, and I think he fits the Pittsburgh Steeler mode.”
So there you have it, the first four picks address the big four needs, and they didn’t have to reach or trade up to make it happen. Green is a physical press-man corner and would allow the Steelers to play a lot of man coverage opposite Joey Porter Jr.
4:119 – S Tykee Smith – Georgia
The next biggest need is defensive line, but the prospects available at the position weren’t the best fits in Pittsburgh. They considered Khristian Boyd, but decided to wait and see if he was available in the sixth round. The Steelers had 7 different safeties start last season due to injury and suspension, so even with the addition of DeShon Elliott in free agency, they opted to add Smith out of Georgia. He projects as more of a box safety, and should be a positive addition to the special teams unit while he develops into a nickel option in subpackage football.
6:178 – DL Khristian Boyd – Northern Iowa
They waited to see if Boyd would still be available in the sixth round, and lo and behold, he was! The Steelers brought him in for a pre-draft visit, so there is a very real possibility of this pick happening if he is still available this late in the draft.
“That’s my secret find guy,” Spielman said. “I love that kid.”
He only tested at his pro day, but he measured in at 6025, 325 pounds, with 31 7/8-inch arms. It isn’t the prototype that the Steelers usually pursue along the defensive line, but he is a run stuffer that takes up a lot of space that has flashed some potential as an interior pass rusher. The limited length will make it an uphill battle for him, but he has insane strength with 38 reps on the bench press at his pro day.
Khristian Boyd Scouting Report
6:195 – WR Jha’Quan Jackson – Tulane
The Steelers have been lacking a slot option at wide receiver for years, and they did address that with Jalen McMillan above, but they doubled down on receiver with Tulane’s Jackson. He has a slight frame at 5091, 188 pounds, with 30 7/8-inch arms, but he offers good long speed and short-area burst. He may never see the starting lineup at wide receiver, but he has extensive punt return experience and could be an option there on day one. The Steelers have been investing in special teams all offseason so far, so a good continuation of that trend at the end of this mock draft exercise.
