Football is built from the inside out. It starts in the trenches. Win the battle up front. All clichés and mantras that send the same message. Build a strong offensive line. That’s how the Pittsburgh Steelers want to be in 2024. If their draft reflects so, it could make for a franchise first.
Pittsburgh’s done just about everything you can in the first round. They’ve had the No. 1 pick, they’ve had the last pick, they’ve had no pick at all. In 1959, they didn’t make a single selection until the eighth round after head coach Buddy Parker, who loathed rookies, traded the team’s picks away. They’ve been involved in every draft in NFL history starting with the first in 1936.
But there’s something they haven’t done. They’ve never gone back-to-back drafts selecting an offensive lineman in the first round. That’s any of the big guys up front, center, guard, or tackle. In fact, the Steelers taking an o-lineman in the first round is relatively uncommon. Since 2003, it’s only happened three times – Maurkice Pouncey in 2010, David DeCastro in 2012, and Broderick Jones last year. And back-to-back? It hasn’t happened. Pouncey and DeCastro were close but separated by DL Cam Heyward.
This could be the year that changes. Omar Khan traded up for OT Broderick Jones last year, becoming the Steelers’ first first-round tackle selected since the disaster that became Jamain Stephens in 1996. Now, offensive line is squarely on the team’s radar. If the draft were held today, a tackle or center would be the favorite to be the pick even if other positions like cornerback can’t be ruled out. Pittsburgh could go even further and take two Georgia offensive tackles in back-to-back years should Amarius Mims be the team’s selection, a real possibility and frontrunner if you had to pick a singular name.
In fairness, it’s not frequently used consecutive first-round picks at the same position. But it has happened. From 2013 to 2015, Pittsburgh drafted three straight linebackers in Ryan Shazier, Jarvis Jones, and Bud Dupree. Shazier off-ball, Jones and Dupree EDGE rushers but all linebackers the way we put all the offensive linemen into the same bucket. Jones and Dupree were back-to-back. In 1999 and 2000, Pittsburgh drafted WRs Troy Edwards and Plaxico Burress in consecutive classes, ushering in the Kevin Colbert era with the team’s latter pick.
Does history mean much? No, it’s just a fun factoid for a franchise that has been drafting for nearly 90 years to have a “first” as basic as this. But if o-line is the selection, it’ll be the Steelers literally doubling down on their mentality. Be physical, be strong up front, run the ball well, and protect their quarterback. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have been the two most-sacked quarterbacks over the past two years and though those issues are partly due to “user error,” those guys making their own mistakes, fortifying their o-line is prudent.
Since the “old five” of Ramon Foster, Alejandro Villanueva, Marcus Gilbert, Pouncey, DeCastro were broken up and exited the NFL, the Steelers have rebuilt their offensive line multiple times. With varying results, in part due to the team’s lack of investment. If o-line is the choice at No. 20, it’ll not only make history but show the team’s approach to going all-in on the building blocks of its franchise.
