Sports Illustrated’s annual exercise to rank the best and most consistent teams at drafting in the NFL is out ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, and the Pittsburgh Steelers climbed up one spot to No. 18 after being ranked No. 19 last season. SI’s Matt Verderame has a point system that rewards a team five points for drafting a first-team All-Pro, three points for a second-team All-Pro, one point for each starter and each regular season win, two points for a Wild Card Round playoff win, three points for a divisional round win, four points for a conference championship win, and five points for each Super Bowl win.
The Kansas City Chiefs predictably came out ahead with 152 total points, while the Steelers No. 18 ranking came with 67 total points. Verderame gave them credit for being one of the better organizations in the league but dinged them for recent first-round misses in Kenny Pickett and Devin Bush.
“Pittsburgh has a long-standing reputation for being one of the best-run organizations in the NFL. And while that’s still valid, the Steelers have to start drafting better. They’ve had too many first-round misses (Kenny Pickett and Devin Bush), leaving them vulnerable to scrambling in free agency.”
Trading up for Bush and selecting Pickett at No. 20 overall were two moves that hurt the Steelers more than helped, and neither is with the organization anymore, although Bush is back in the AFC North with the Cleveland Browns. Pickett only spent two years in Pittsburgh before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, but the Steelers have had some good hits in the middle rounds. Diontae Johnson became a Pro Bowl-level player after being taken in the third round in 2019, while Alex Highsmith has turned into one of the best EDGE rushers in football after being a third-round pick in 2020.
But the early-round busts hurt Pittsburgh, and their drafting pedigree takes a hit, especially in this sort of exercise. However, general manager Omar Khan’s first draft last season seemed to be a positive one, with the team hitting on Joey Porter Jr. in the second round, while Keeanu Benton, Nick Herbig, and Broderick Jones all look like solid contributors. Jones has the potential to be a future bookend starting tackle for the Steelers, although his play did dip a bit at the end of last season playing right tackle.
But it’s an exciting time for the Steelers with Khan running the show and the team adding Russell Wilson and Patrick Queen this offseason. With the 2024 NFL Draft less than two weeks away on April 25, we’ll see if the Steelers can continue the positive momentum from last year’s draft.
