Barring a massive non-draft move over the next week, a trade for WR Brandon Aiyuk or something else monumental, the bulk of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ remaining offseason additions will come through the draft. The good news is that this year’s edition is strong at positions the Steelers need: offensive tackle, wide receiver, center, and there are enough slot corner and d-line options to give Pittsburgh some choices.
Ideally, the 2024 offering is as impactful and productive as the 2023 one. A draft where everything broke right for GM Omar Khan, the board falling into place pick after pick, while Khan made shrewd and smart moves along the way. The Steelers’ top five picks were OT Broderick Jones, CB Joey Porter Jr., DT Keeanu Benton, TE Darnell Washington, and OLB Nick Herbig. All four played key roles in the team’s success throughout the 2023 season. Hopefully, this year is as fruitful.
Because it’s going to have to be.
As we’ve covered before, the Steelers enter the draft with plenty of needs. Whoever they draft in those areas — receiver, center, cornerback — won’t be sitting and learning Week 1. They’ll be doing that as they play. Pittsburgh’s veteran competition at those spots is weak. Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson at receiver. Nate Herbig at center. A…ok, nothing at slot corner (right now, anyway, watch for Patrick Peterson to circle back).
Pittsburgh’s had a less-than-stellar habit of not having enough veteran competition. It’s how Kendrick Green was forced to start as a rookie in 2021. And while it worked out well enough last season, the rookie class stepped up, asking to do it again comes with risk. Someone might get hurt. Someone might take longer to develop. Someone might just be a bust.
The team’s top four picks in 2023 played all 17 games. Don’t take that for granted. Don’t assume that’ll happen again.
Khan’s second draft comes with little margin for error. Plugging all the team’s voids is tough enough. To borrow Mike Tomlin’s phrase, the Steelers have an eight-pound bag of needs they’re trying to stuff into a five-pound bad of draft capital. But even putting that issue aside, the picks the team does make will be key. They gotta get them right. And they have to find players who can come in and contribute, potentially heavy snaps, right away. It’s doable, it can be done as it was in 2023, but it’s not easy.
