The seven-player draft class that the Pittsburgh Steelers put together in three days last week in Detroit continues to generate quite a bit of praise from NFL analysts across the landscape.
Big-name draft analysts like ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates, Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler loved what the Steelers did across the seven-round draft, landing some high-end, impactful players like Washington OL Troy Fautanu, West Virginia center Zach Frazier and even North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson.
From a consensus standpoint, the Steelers received an “A” grade across the board.
Even former NFL receiver Harry Douglas, an ESPN analyst who appeared on the DraftKings Network show “GoJo and Golic” Tuesday morning, said the Steelers had a great draft, landing impact players who fit new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s scheme.
“…It started last year when they drafted Broderick Jones. But being able to get Troy Fautanu, they got, I think, Frazier from West Virginia, the center. And then Roman Wilson, and then they got Payton Wilson. So, guys that really can make an impact right now,” Douglas said regarding the Steelers’ draft class, according to video via YouTube. “I know the offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, he’s very intentional on winning the line of scrimmage. And we all know what their defense brings.”
After a few years of poor play from the offensive line, including at the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era in 2021, the Steelers have seemingly completely the transformation of the unit, building it in the shape and vision that GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl want now that they’re in their second seasons in charge of roster construction.
Following the selection of Jones last season, the Steelers tripled down in the trenches — literally — landing Fautanu, Frazier and South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick. That will help the Steelers immensely from a starting and depth perspective as Fautanu and Frazier are expected to be Day 1 starters, while McCormick is likely a starter in 2025.
Even players like Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson, and most likely Payton Wilson, will be contributors right away as the Steelers are gearing up to try and compete for a Super Bowl title in 2024. Much is unknown from that aspect, especially what they will get out of the quarterback position, but the Steelers very much appear to be in win-now mode, and the draft picks certainly help with that.
They landed immediate-impact guys, which will be quite fun to watch during the season to see how the draft class looks overall where it counts: on the field.
