It’s quite easy to connect the dots between the Pittsburgh Steelers and LSU DT Maason Smith during the 2024 pre-draft process. For starters, Smith, from a measurables standpoint alone, fits what the Steelers usually look for when it comes to defensive linemen. Additionally, Steelers defensive line coach Karl Dunbar attended the LSU Pro Day several weeks ago. All of that aside, Smith seems to have quite a few suitors during this year’s pre-draft process.
Smith, in a recent interview with Justin Melo of The Draft Network, said he’s been busy with pre-draft visits these last few weeks.
“It’s been a blessing for me. I’m going to a lot of cities and visiting a lot of places I’ve never visited before,” Smith told Melo about his pre-draft visits with teams. “It’s been fun to fly all over the country with an opportunity to see new spots.
“I started off in New Orleans with the Saints last week. I flew to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I also met with the Jets and Giants. I went to Minnesota, Buffalo, Green Bay, and Charlotte. I just got back from Arizona. I have a few more visits coming up later this week.”
If you are counting at home, that’s 10 teams Smith named that he has already had pre-draft visits with. Melo reported on Twitter that the LSU product has had 12-plus pre-draft visits. That’s quite a few teams, obviously, and approaching half of the NFL organizations.
Smith’s ultimate selection spot in this year’s draft will be fun to watch play out, mainly due to him being a younger player with quite a bit of upside after not logging a ton of playing time at LSU. In fact, Smith, who measured in at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine at 6051, 306-pounds with 35-inch arms, played just 944 defensive snaps over a span of three seasons at LSU. That lack of snaps was mainly due to him tearing his ACL in LSU’s 2022 season opener.
Smith was able to return from his 2022 ACL injury in 2023 to record 28 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and two defensed passes in 12 games played in. He missed the 2023 opener, however, due to a one-game suspension by the NCAA after it was determined that he had received an improper benefit stemming from a pre-NIL era autograph signing in 2021.
While Smith was able to play nearly all of the 2023 season, his overall production wasn’t what many expected it to be. That’s probably one of a just a few reasons why he isn’t likely to be selected within the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Assuming that Smith does indeed remain undrafted after the first two rounds of next week’s draft, it will be interesting to see how much further he falls from there. After all, a team that ultimately drafts him might not view him as a plug-and-play pick.
All told, it’s hard to imagine Smith going undrafted after the first three rounds are completed in the draft. The Steelers currently own two third-round selections, 84th and 98th overall, so chances are they would need to use the first of those two to select Smith if he’s still on the board at the time.
For whatever it’s worth, esteemed draftnik Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Smith listed sixth overall when it comes to his defensive tackle rankings. As far as Brugler’s top-100 overall player rankings, Smith checks in at 64th. Judging by those rankings alone and the pre-draft interest that Smith appears to have had, the Steelers being able to select him at 84th overall just might be perceived as a gift of sorts ultimately.
Rankings are just rankings, however, and with that, it’s not uncommon for players to go lower than their perceived draft spots. The Steelers do seem to be very interested in Smith just the same. Will they ultimately make him one of their picks in the 2024 NFL Draft? If so, will they be able to get him as late as the third round? We’ll find out the answers to those questions a week from Friday.
