PFF recently put out a seven-round mock draft with one of its analysts selecting for each team, and with Simon Chester picking for the Steelers, the team did a decent job of filling out their needs. However, a massive trade up to No. 34 overall to select Zach Frazier left the Steelers with just five picks in the draft, which made it hard to address everything that needed to be addressed.
In the first round, the Steelers went with Washington OT Troy Fautanu.
“Pittsburgh selects a West Coast player with its top pick for the first time since taking David DeCastro in 2012,” Chester writes. “While he might lack the height some like to see in a tackle, Fautanu has good length for the position. His physical play style should endear him to Steelers fans, and his impressive athleticism offers Pittsburgh some positional flexibility.”
At 6036, Fautanu’s relatively small for an offensive tackle, but his 34 1/2-inch arms mean he has the length to play the position. Arm length should supersede height when it comes to evaluating offensive tackles, but the fact of the matter is the last offensive tackle under 6-4 to be drafted in the first round was Isaiah Wynn by the New England Patriots in 2018. Daniel Jeremiah recently said there’s a team that views Fautanu as the top center in the class, and it wouldn’t shock me if that team was Pittsburgh. However, in this scenario, Fautanu is drafted to be Pittsburgh’s right tackle of the future.
Without a center and with the risk of missing out on all of the top three options with Graham Barton and Jackson Powers-Johnson off the board, the Steelers give up No. 51, No. 98 and No. 119 to move up with the New England Patriots to No. 34 to grab Frazier, a plug-and-play center option.
“With the top two centers off the board already, the Steelers move up (overpay?) to get their center of the future in Zach Frazier,” Chester writes. “He is another physical presence to pair with Fautanu, and the coaches will love his core strength that stems from a wrestling background. The experienced West Virginia product (2,584 snaps) should project to be an opening-day starter.”
The Steelers technically lose this trade if you go off the trade value chart, but to jump up 17 spots, it’s to be expected. I love grabbing Fautanu and Frazier to bolster the trenches early, but I really don’t like the Steelers giving up three picks and making it so they don’t have any fourth- or fifth-round selections, meaning they have to wait from the third round all the way to the sixth before they make another pick. If the scenario played out where the Steelers seemed likely to miss on the top centers (which seems probable if they don’t take one in the first), I’d be more in favor of waiting to address the position then giving up so much to move up.
With Pittsburgh’s pick at No. 84 overall, it selects North Carolina WR Devontez Walker.
“Having added some beef, the Steelers now gain some speed with the selection of one of the fastest players at the NFL Scouting Combine,” Chester writes. “Walker gives Pittsburgh an outside presence that cannot be ignored, bringing a knack for scoring touchdowns, something the now-traded Diontae Johnson struggled with. The North Carolina product has a good catch radius and is great on contested targets.”
Walker’s a burner, having run a 4.36 40-yard dash at the Combine, and he was one of Drake Maye’s top targets last season after transferring from Kent State. He had 41 receptions for 699 yards and seven touchdowns last season in eight games, and he had 19 collegiate touchdowns. While PFF’s analysis that Johnson “struggled” scoring touchdowns is completely unfair when factoring in the quarterback play Pittsburgh had, Walker is someone who could be a solid replacement for Johnson on the outside and give the Steelers a big-play threat opposite George Pickens.
With a long wait until their next pick, the Steelers double up at wide receiver by taking Georgia’s Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint at No. 178 overall. A physical slot receiver, Rosemy-Jacksaint is a heck of a blocker for a receiver with good hands who also had a Zoom call with Pittsburgh as part of the pre-draft process.
The Steelers rounded out their draft by taking Texas CB Ryan Watts, another player the team met with who adds depth at the cornerback position. In this scenario, the Steelers are likely hitting free agency to add additional depth at corner, but Watts is a solid developmental piece and another young guy to compete in the cornerback room. The Ohio State transfer had three career collegiate interceptions.
