With the 2024 NFL Draft only a week away, the Pittsburgh Steelers have finalized their pre-draft visits. That list gives us an idea of areas that the Steelers are targeting in the draft. The offensive line group was the biggest with 12 total visitors. Wide receiver and defensive line followed with six visitors each.
On Thursday’s episode of the Athletic Football Show, Dane Brugler and Nate Tice broke down some of their favorite prospects in the draft. Among the list were players who visited Pittsburgh during the pre-draft process. Up first, everyone’s favorite tackle-to-center project, Graham Barton.
“I have Barton as my number 12 guy on my big board overall,” Tice said. “Because his tape is exceptional. I really like his tape… He’s a technician. He’s got great feet, great hands… Even if he’s not a left tackle, which I still think he could in a pinch do that, I think he could start at four spots: left guard, center, right guard, right tackle. At the very least, three spots and be a high-end starter.”
There’s certainly a lot of dots that we can connect between Barton and the Steelers beyond the pre-draft visit. The Steelers have a need at center, and Barton does have (limited) experience at the position. The Steelers met with him at the NFL Scouting Combine, and then offensive coordinator Arthur Smith attended Duke’s Pro Day. At that Pro Day, Barton participated in center positional drills to showcase that ability.
Even Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is expecting that Barton will be the Steelers’ pick at 20th overall. Does that guarantee it? No, because a lot can happen in the next seven days (and in the first 19 picks of the draft). However, Tice evidently thinks that Barton is a top-15 prospect in the draft. So if the Steelers get him at 20, that’s a darn good pick addressing a big need.
When the discussion turned to Day 2 of the NFL draft, Brugler highlighted another Steelers pre-draft visitor, CB Andru Phillips. He laid out Phillips’ drawbacks in terms of his less-than-ideal size and the lack of production in terms of interceptions. Then he launched into why he loves Phillips anyway.
“Usually with these two things, I’m out,” Brugler said. “I’m all the way in on Andru Phillips because he competes his butt off. When you watch him, he’s always in phase. He’s not all over the place, he doesn’t show a lot of panic. I liked his tape going into the Senior Bowl, but then watching him during practice at the Senior Bowl, that’s where it really clicked for me. This guy, he’s all over this receiver, the receiver can’t do anything. He is a blanket. I think he has a really good sense for just playing the position.”
Phillips certainly would fill a major need for the Steelers. They selected Joey Porter Jr. in the second round of last year’s draft, but there isn’t much past him on the roster currently. Phillips did not have any interceptions in his career, which is one of the major concerns Brugler mentions at the beginning. However, per Pro Football Focus, he only allowed four touchdowns in coverage in four years and 1,105 career snaps.
Phillips has also played multiple spots on the defense. While he primarily played outside corner this past season, he also took a number of snaps as a slot corner and even at strong safety in his career. He brings versatility, which is never a bad thing.
Phillips wasn’t the only player Brugler highlighted as a favorite Day 2 pick. He sees LB Junior Colson as a player who will likely go at the top of Round 2.
“He is, I think, the clear Linebacker 1 in a weak linebacker class,” Brugler said. “So if you want to come away from the draft with a standout guy in the middle, you want the green-dot guy who has athleticism, has physicality, has toughness. Junior Colson is, I think, easily the top guy this year.”
The Steelers had two inside linebackers in for pre-draft visits: Colson and Payton Wilson. Evidently, the team still considers inside linebacker a need even after signing Patrick Queen in free agency. Elandon Roberts was fantastic last season, but he’s only under contract for this season. Cole Holcomb’s injury return is still up in the air as well. So depth is a big need, and the Steelers also showed that they want three linebackers to rotate.
Whether the league values him the same way Brugler does will determine if the Steelers even have a chance to draft him. If the league sees him as the best off-ball linebacker, chances are Colson will be long gone before the Steelers pick in the second round. However, we certainly know that the Steelers are looking to reinforce their inside linebacker room.
