The Pittsburgh Steelers this year—at least initially—just did something for the second year in a row that I can’t definitively say they had ever done before. For the second year in a row, they retained all of their draft picks, albeit with a caveat. As far as I can verify, they had never before rostered every single draft pick initially prior to last season. Now, with Omar Khan’s second draft, they have done so again.
Let’s just get the caveat out of the way first, and that is sixth-round DB Ryan Watts. Watts suffered a reported “stinger” in the preseason finale, but the injury is evidently more serious. The Steelers placed him on the Reserve/Injured List yesterday with no return designation. That means his rookie season is officially over—but he is still a part of the roster. They did not terminate his contract, so that counts.
Outside of Watts, every other player the Steelers drafted this year is on the 53-man roster as of this writing. And that’s actually fairly surprising, but only for one player. Nobody is surprised that each of their top five draft picks made the cut, but sixth-round pick Logan Lee raised some eyebrows.
So let’s talk about Lee a little bit, because I’m going to be honest, he might not be here long. Currently, he is one of eight defensive linemen on the Steelers’ 53-man roster, but that includes DeMarvin Leal, who is flexing out to outside linebacker, where they only have three full-fledged players.
The Steelers had the Iowa product lining up at lot at nose tackle during training camp and the preseason, primarily due to short lines there. This was a disservice to him, as he unsurprisingly didn’t look natural there as a defensive end. He tried to hold his own, but he clearly struggled due to his size. Perhaps the Steelers like his willingness, however, and believe he has the potential to develop. And perhaps he will play on special teams, too.
Outside of Logan Lee, though, the Steelers offered no surprises in retaining their other six draft picks. We’ve already discussed Watts, and 60 percent of the remainder is offensive linemen. Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier should start sooner rather than later while Mason McCormick is the primary backup guard.
In between the linemen are WR Roman Wilson and ILB Payton Wilson. Both could have immediate roles with Payton already ticketed for sub-package work. The Steelers will have to wait on Roman, who suffered an ankle injury early in camp. The good news is he avoided the Reserve/Injured List, so he should return soon.
Last year, the Steelers retained all seven draft picks, including two seventh-round picks, but that’s not even the most impressive part. The most impressive part is that all seven of them made the 53-man roster again. And there is no reason to believe any of them are in immediate danger of losing their jobs, from Spencer Anderson to Cory Trice Jr.
So why are the Steeler retaining so many more of their draft picks under Omar Khan? I can’t answer that question because we’re still dealing with infinitesimally small sample sizes. I will say that the general quality of the roster plays a part as well. Arguably, the Steelers have had weaker rosters in recent years, so that helps to retain all your draft picks. But it also helps to draft talented football players who fit your system, and the Steelers have done that, too.
