It wasn’t flashy, but the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 NFL Draft Class addressed key needs for the Black and Gold and, most importantly, added toughness, physicality, and versatility.
For Pro Football Focus analyst Dalton Wasserman, who was on PFF’s live draft coverage show on YouTube with host Trevor Sikkema and co-host Max Chadwick, the Steelers’ draft class was quintessential Steelers and gave him the feel of it being the 1970s again as the Steelers added a number of rugged, Steelers-type players.
“Is the entire Steelers’ draft class just gonna be guys that make total sense to be Pittsburgh Steelers? ‘Cause this is another one,” Wasserman said of the Steelers’ draft class after Pittsburgh selected Iowa’s Logan Lee. “It’s just rugged, right? Like, he’s another guy. I feel like they…must be getting ready. They must know something about a harsh winter coming that we don’t because these are just big, rugged, nasty physical, like Pittsburgh.
“Is it the seventies? Is this what we’re doing, we’re drafting Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventies?”
Reading that, you might think that Wasserman is taking a shot at the Steelers’ draft class in today’s modern era of the NFL. But that’s not the case.
The Steelers’ draft class fits perfectly into what the Steelers want to be and do on the field, which is to be a physical, nasty team that rolls people like head coach Mike Tomlin said on NFL Network at the conclusion of the Steelers’ draft Saturday.Â
Pittsburgh had some of the pieces in place with the likes of running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, guards Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels, tackle Broderick Jones, and tight end Darnell Washington offensively to be that run-heavy, bully-ball style offense.Â
But more was needed.
Those boxes were checked in the draft this weekend as the Steelers landed Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu in the first round, West Virginia center Zach Frazier in the second round, and South Dakota State interior offensive lineman Mason McCormick in the fourth round before adding Lee in the sixth.
There was a major emphasis on the trenches, and the Steelers did well to address the positions on both sides of the football, not to mention adding the physical Roman Wilson at receiver, the hair-on-fire linebacker Payton Wilson, and the heavy-hitting Ryan Watts at cornerback. Everything just fit very well together for the Steelers, who seemingly nailed the draft for the second straight year.
It might give off that 70s vibe based on play style. Hopefully, it translates to 70s-era success in the near future.
