Through the first two days of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers are once again drawing universal praise for their haul in the first three rounds.
Last year during the 2023 NFL Draft, Omar Khan — in his first draft as GM of the Steelers — hit a home run all three days, landing talented players with great value at their draft slots, players who went on to play key roles for the Steelers as they reached the playoffs last season.
Now, through the first two days of the 2024 NFL Draft, Khan seems to be at it again.
In a piece for The Athletic Saturday morning, NFL analyst Kalyn Kahler stated that the Steelers have had the best draft haul through the first two days — by far.
“They picked four players and covered a bunch of different position needs,” Kahler writes. “They picked versatile offensive lineman Troy Fautanu in the first round, center Zach Frazier in the second round (the Steelers know how to draft a center) and speedy slot receiver Roman Wilson and linebacker Payton Wilson in the third round. Wilson has some very concerning injury concerns (NFL Network reported Friday that he has no ACL in one of his knees), but he’s incredibly fast and a talented tackler who is ready to play right now.”
In the first three rounds, the Steelers have certainly done well, addressing positions of need while also getting tremendous value on the board, sitting tight and landing players who fit like gloves to their culture and scheme.
Having Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu fall to them at No. 20 overall in the first round was a bit of a surprise, considering he was one of the top linemen in the draft, period. It’s a bit more understandable that West Virginia center Zach Frazier fell to Pittsburgh at No. 51 in the second round considering the NFL seems to be devaluing the center position overall. But seeing the likes of Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson and North Carolina linebacker Payton Wilson fall as far as they did into the third round was surprising, without a doubt.
Khan, to his credit, pounced and landed some talented players at positions of need for the Steelers.
On Day 3 Khan and the Steelers will have three more picks at No. 119 in the fourth round and No. 178 and No. 195 in the sixth rounds, assuming he doesn’t trade up or down and acquire more picks or give up some picks in the process.
With those three picks on deck, Khan and the Steelers have a chance to add to their impressive haul again as the Steelers continue to build a strong roster.
