The 2024 NFL Draft is fast approaching. The good news is that the Pittsburgh Steelers should have plenty of options when they are on the clock with the 20th overall pick. We know that teams should always prioritize the best player available, but the Steelers have plenty of needs that have to be addressed.
So where could a first-round pick have the biggest impact on the team? Would a starting offensive tackle have a bigger impact on the team than a new wide receiver? Would a starting center be a bigger upgrade than a cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr.?
That means we need to look at who’s on the roster at those positions as well as potential picks to fill those needs.
Offensive Tackle
The Steelers ended the season with Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle and Broderick Jones at right tackle. Jones was the team’s first-round pick last April and was tabbed to be the left tackle of the future. Instead, Jones replaced Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle during the 2023 season. He helped in the run game but struggled at times in pass protection. Understandable as Jones played almost exclusively left tackle in his college career.
What surprised most people is that Jones did not replace Moore during the season. Pro Football Focus graded Moore as the worst pass-blocking tackle of 2023. He was marginally better at run blocking so he wasn’t the worst tackle in all of football.
So, the Steelers could really use an upgrade ahead of this season. Offensive linemen guru Duke Manyweather has been watching Moore this offseason and said “it’s been his best.” If that’s indeed true, then perhaps the issue will resolve itself.
However, the Steelers have been doing their diligence on offensive tackles throughout the pre-draft process. They’ve hosted a number of potential tackles for pre-draft visits who could be either first- or second-round picks. It’s also a mix of left and right tackles. That means they aren’t locking themselves into keeping Jones at right tackle or moving him back to left tackle.
Impact Of Early Draft Pick?
Getting better protection for whoever is the starting quarterback should be a priority this offseason. Will an early-round pick (either first or second round) be a major upgrade? Probably not in the short term. The Steelers kept Jones on the bench until essentially the halfway point of last season. Long term, it would be a decided upgrade as long as the pick pans out.
Center
Unlike either of the offensive tackle positions, last year’s starting center is no longer on the roster. The Steelers cut Mason Cole early in the offseason, which leaves G Nate Herbig as the starter currently.
The Steelers have also done their homework on plenty of the draft-eligible centers this offseason. They’ve had Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon and Zach Frazier from West Virginia in town for pre-draft visits. Mason McCormick, another pre-draft visitor, could potentially play center as well.
While centers are rarely taken in the first round, this is a position that the Steelers cannot ignore and hope for the best. While the team could theoretically hope for a Moore rebound to address the offensive tackle position, Herbig does not have starting experience at center.
Impact Of Early-Round Pick?
This would arguably be one of the few spots where a rookie would walk in and start from Day 1. Who wouldn’t be more comfortable with a rookie starting over Herbig? It’s not that Herbig’s a bad player, it’s that he’s been playing guard. If the Steelers draft a high-quality true center, it would be an impact pick instantly.
Wide Receiver
The Steelers have their No. 1 wide receiver in George Pickens. What they don’t have is another starting wide receiver with either proven experience or high-profile potential. That’s because they traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers this offseason. They have added depth this offseason with Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson, but there’s a gaping hole opposite Pickens with Johnson gone.
Pittsburgh realizes this and has conducted itself accordingly. Seven wide receivers have visited the Steelers in the pre-draft process. They’ve evaluated receivers who could be logical picks at 20th overall and others for the second or third rounds.
While the Steelers don’t need a No. 1 wide receiver, they still need a starter. Reportedly, the Steelers are still looking into trade options, and that would drastically change how they approach the draft.
Impact Of Early-Round Pick?
This would be a major upgrade at the position, no doubt. However, how much impact would it have on the entire team’s performance? Pickens is the top dog at receiver. The Steelers will continue to run the ball heavily under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. We also know Smith loves to target the tight ends in his offense. It would be a good pick due to the talent upgrade, but it would not have the biggest impact possible.
Cornerback
So far, we’ve been focusing on the offense, and for good reason. There are a number of holes for an offense that hasn’t been good in recent years. That being said, the Steelers need to address the cornerback position. Like the wide receiver position with George Pickens, the top corner is already on the roster in Joey Porter Jr.
Beyond that is also murky, much like the wide receiver position. Patrick Peterson was cut, and Levi Wallace is a free agent. The Steelers did add Donte Jackson in the trade with the Panthers, so he could reach new levels in Pittsburgh. However, that’s not even as near a certainty as drafting a corner high.
As for that, the Steelers have brought eight corners/defensive backs in for pre-draft visits. That’s on top of meeting with Alabama’s top two corners for dinner while in town for its Pro Day. That’s a lot of players they have been evaluating.
Impact Of Early-Round Pick?
Could the Steelers run with a starting duo of Porter and Jackson? Sure, but in the pass-happy NFL, that’s not going to be good enough. Would an early-round corner make the depth chart look a lot better? Absolutely. Now, neither the Steelers nor Peterson have ruled out a reunion at some point. That would help address the depth, but an early-round corner would make a big impact on the defense.
The Value Of Spending An Early-Round Pick
The other component to when the Steelers should look to address each position is the financial aspect. There are positions in the NFL that teams invest a lot of money in. So spending an early-round pick can be a cost-effective way to address those positions rather than spending big in free agency.
So what does this mean? For a detailed breakdown, check out Ben Baldwin’s corresponding article about how these charts were developed. The point is to assess the value of each position versus how much teams will spend on giving those players a second contract. We can view this two ways: One, the players drafted higher at each position obviously command bigger salaries because they tend to be more successful.
Second, by spending a draft pick at a premium position, a team can get an excellent player without breaking the bank like it would in free agency. On the offensive side of the ball, tackle is the most premium position and has a very steady drop-off in salary cap percentage relative to its draft position. The interior offensive line, which encompasses both centers and guards, does not drop off as steeply and in fact counts for a higher percentage of the salary cap in later picks. Wide receiver starts at a higher value and decreases but only drops below the interior offensive line at the tail end of the graph (around pick 100).
Defensively, interior linemen and edge rushers are virtually identical as the most premier positions. Cornerback is not terribly far behind, either.
Overall, out of the four positions we’ve discussed, offensive tackle is the most valuable position in terms of salary cap considerations. If a team hits on a tackle early, it’s huge both for the performance of the team and for financial considerations.
What Would Make The Biggest Impact Early In The Draft?
Out of these four positions, I think it would be easiest to say that an early-round center would likely have the biggest impact on the team. The path to being the top starter is easiest to find while also being the biggest upgrade over what the team has now.
Offensive tackle could have a big impact long-term, and we saw last year that the Steelers will be quite patient. They waited weeks before putting Jones out as a permanent starter despite trading up for him. Jones did get into the starting lineup and helped pave the way for a resurgent run game, so he did end up having an impact as a rookie. As noted above, drafting a quality offensive tackle early will be a benefit financially in the short term while also helping the team on the field.
Picking a wide receiver could yield an immediate starter, but that player would only be the third- or fourth-most targeted player in the passing game. Then you factor in the focus on the run game, and would an early-round receiver have as much of an impact as a center? Highly unlikely.
Cornerback is more intriguing in that the Steelers do have a need for a top-three corner. However, the Steelers were patient with Porter last year despite some early-season struggles with the secondary. That being said, Porter did go on to have a good season, so a good corner could do the same. The potential for a reunion with Peterson could help address the depth, though.
By the time the regular season starts, the Steelers need to have addressed all four of these positions. Three of the positions need an outside influx of talent, either through the draft or via other means (trade or free agency). Most still expect that the fourth position, offensive tackle, will also be addressed in the draft.
An early-round center would have a chance to make a big impact. It’s an easy path to starting while also touching the ball on literally every single offensive play. Bad centers can ruin an offense while a great center is a Pittsburgh tradition. Just don’t be shocked if that center is drafted in the second round rather than the first.
As for that first-round pick? If the Steelers don’t eschew standard draft thought processes and take a center at 20th overall, I would expect that it’ll be an offensive tackle. It’s the intersection of need and a premium position that should have a talented player available.
Conversely, I think wide receiver would be the most surprising pick here. The Steelers do need a starter, but in terms of both financial impact and impact on the field, I think it ranks the lowest of the four positions. Cornerback is the wild card here for me. If the Steelers have fallen in love with one of the top corners, they very well could pick him at 20.
