The 2024 NFL Draft is just seven days away. The draft serves as the single best opportunity to infuse your roster with new talent and address positions of need without breaking the bank, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have some very important holes to fill if they hope to be competitive in 2024. The Athletic’s Austin Mock put together a projection model with the level of talent at each position on every team’s roster and ranked them in order. The Steelers came in at No. 22.
“Offense, offense, offense. The Steelers currently rank 31st and 32nd at offensive tackle and wide receiver, respectively, per my model,” Mock wrote. “You won’t score many points in the NFL with that level of production at those spots. Neither QB will succeed with the current talent around them. Even prime Ben Roethlisberger would struggle with this group.”
With a first-round pick invested in tackle in last year’s draft, you can reasonably expect Broderick Jones to improve from his rookie season and for the group to be better than the 31st-best that Mock suggests. Still, the Steelers have been showing heavy interest in the tackle position this draft cycle for a reason. Dan Moore Jr. was one of the worst tackles in the NFL last season, especially when it comes to pass blocking.
Fortunately, the Steelers aren’t in need of a left tackle to replace Moore, as they have stated their intentions to move Jones back over to the left side. They need a right tackle, which often holds a little less value than their counterpart on the left side. This position remains the favorite to be addressed at pick 20 in the first round.
As for WR, the Steelers created this issue for themselves by trading Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers. They seem to be still poking around the veteran trade market leading up to the draft. If they are able to pull off a trade for a proven WR, their 32nd ranking in Mock’s model would quickly shoot up. George Pickens is talented; it’s just there isn’t a whole lot else in the WR room at the moment surrounding him.
San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk has been the talk of the town when it comes to trade possibilities, but the 49ers don’t seem keen on parting with him. Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton could be another option as he reportedly seeks a contract extension and declined to report to the first voluntary training activities of the offseason.
The team has also brought in several receivers toward the top of the talent pool in the draft. Not necessarily the first-round guys, but many that should be drafted on Day 2. If the Steelers can’t find a trade partner, then expect a receiver to be selected in the second or third round with one of their three picks in that range. Fortunately, it is one of the deepest WR drafts in recent memory, so there should be plenty of opportunities to upgrade if they fail to find a veteran via trade.
Both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are on one-year deals for now. GM Omar Khan has been aggressively upgrading the roster this offseason, and the team appears to be in win-now mode. They cannot afford to inadequately surround Wilson (or Fields) with talent when they are trying to figure out the QB plan for the future and evaluate the two current options on the roster.
All three AFC North teams received higher roster rankings in this exercise with the Baltimore Ravens (No. 3), Cincinnati Bengals (No. 10), and the Cleveland Browns (No. 14) all entering the draft with fewer holes to fill.
