Last year during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers under GM Omar Khan traded up in the first round from No. 17 to No. 14 overall to land Georgia’s Broderick Jones.
This year, that same thing could happen with the Steelers, who are very clearly interested in addressing the offensive line in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.
According to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, the “most likely scenario” for the Steelers in the first round involves a trade up.
“Last year, they moved from [17 to 14] and all it cost them was the [120th] pick because they pinpointed Jones as within reasonable reach to pull the trigger. The Steelers could find themselves in a similar situation that might result in the same plan,” Kaboly writes regarding the Steelers and a potential move up in the first round. “It’s not a secret the Steelers are interested in a right tackle.
“They brought in 11 offensive linemen for pre-draft visits, with some of the top right tackles in the draft in Amarius Mims, Tyler Guyton, Troy Fautanu and Taliese Fuaga, as well as centers Jackson Powers-Johnson, Zach Frazier and Graham Barton. …Out of all the scenarios, moving up in the first round to draft a right tackle has to be at the top.”
The number of offensive linemen the Steelers have looked at throughout the pre-draft process has been rather eye-opening. Typically, the Steelers don’t hide their interest or intentions, and that has been the case again this pre-draft cycle. The Steelers have kept a close eye on the big men up front in an effort to try and address the offensive overall.
After trading up for Jones last year and seeing moderate success with the first offensive tackle drafted in the first round by the franchise in 30 years, the Steelers appear poised to do it again in 2024.
Though names like Georgia’s Amarius Mims, Washington Troy Fautanu, and Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga have been connected to the Steelers and No. 20 overall, the best bet to land one of Fuaga or Mims — or maybe even Alabama’s JC Latham – is to move up in the first round, using the same approach from the previous season.
As Kaboly pointed out, moving up just three spots last year only cost the Steelers the No. 120 overall pick in the fourth round. Ultimately, the New England Patriots traded that pick to move up in the fourth round, and the New York Jets selected Pittsburgh offensive tackle Carter Warren at No. 120 overall.
This year, the Steelers might need to move up further than three spots to get one of their targets at offensive tackle, especially in a deep class along with a handful of teams in front of them with needs along the offensive line, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals and potentially the New Orleans Saints.
Were the Steelers to move up in the first round, it would be for an offensive tackle, rather than a center, according to Kaboly, even with the center position being a glaring hole for Pittsburgh after cutting Mason Cole in February and not addressing the position via trade or free agency.
“…It would be highly unlikely for them to move up to grab one of their top three centers on the board as they would much prefer one falling to them at 20 or, best-case scenario, into the second round, where Khan could potentially move up to get a guy like Frazier or Powers-Johnson,” Kaboly writes.
In just eight days the 2024 NFL Draft gets underway. There is plenty of intrigue regarding what the Steelers will do in the first round, whether that’s stay at No. 20 overall and select the best player available or continue an aggressive offseason and move up to land their coveted player.
