As we did last year, a midseason review of the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted rookie class. Checking in on how each player is doing and ranking the best ROI of the players so far based solely off the first eight games. This won’t include the UDFAs, though CB Beanie Bishop Jr. has played a key role this year.
We may revisit these rankings and evaluations after the 2024 season concludes. Keep in mind this is not a final list or conclusions about the quality of these picks. Just where each player is at right now.
1. C Zach Frazier
Pittsburgh’s second round pick and obvious first-place name on this list. Frazier’s missed the last 2.5 games with an ankle injury but looked like a young star at center before getting hurt. His ability to move people in the run game was key, he works hard and can call out and adjust protections, and he can anchor better in pass pro than what I thought he could, based on his college tape and training camp performance.
Snap exchanges were an issue, though, and blame can be split to multiple people, I’m sure. There’s also a question if the ubder-athletic defensive tackles can get on his edges and win. He still hasn’t really seen those types. The injury caused him to avoid seeing two of the best interior linemen Pittsburgh has faced this season in the Jets’ Quinnen Williams and Giants’ Dexter Lawrence. Those would’ve been great matchups.
Still, Frazier looks every bit of the player they drafted. Maybe even better. A sturdy 10-year starter and one of the better pivots in the game.
2. OG Mason McCormick
I’m putting McCormick over Wilson here. Despite being the third offensive lineman drafted and expected to have a reserve/redshirt type of season, McCormick has been thrust into the starting lineup after several injuries and getting the nod over a middling Spencer Anderson.
McCormick began the year at left guard but has flipped to the right side. To his immense credit, he’s handled everything well. Even in the summer on the left side, he didn’t have the technical issues I thought he would. He’s adjusted to Pat Meyer’s flat/aggressive pass sets better than I expected while dealing with being a rookie coming from the FCS level. There’s a lot on his plate before you even consider he moved to right guard, a spot he hasn’t played before, on the fly. And he’s done fine there.
McCormick has active hands and works hard to re-fit and stay engaged. He’s strong and call stall out bull rushes with relative ease. He’s aggressive in the running game and brings good energy as a wide-eyed rookie having fun out there. His pad level in pass pro is still high, he fights his taller build, and he had a tough time in pass pro against the Giants. Some trouble with swipes and getting his hands knocked down.
After being drafted, he was already in the running to replace pending 2025 free agent James Daniels. With Daniels out for the year due to an Achilles tear and McCormick showing he can start, he figures to continue that role into next year. I know I’m comparing a guard to a tackle but there’s some Willie Colon vibes here. Small-school fourth rounder, big and tough, who can run block. Colon ended up playing guard at the end of his Steelers’ career, too.
3. ILB Payton Wilson
Wilson has had a fine and active first half of a rookie season. Despite playing less than half the defense’s snaps, he’s fourth on the team with 39 combined tackles. He’s been used almost exclusively in nickel packages as Elandon Roberts works in base and Patrick Queen in all situations.
Wilson has shown his athleticism and his timed speed matches what he displays on the field. Wilson has range, urgency, and chases the ball with all-out effort. He can be on the far hash and clean up a tackle on the sideline. He brings hit power and has been an asset on the kick coverage team, too.
But there’s work to be done. Wilson’s biggest issue on his college tape was playing in a booth. Not for a lack of height or weight, he has the profile of an old-school linebacker, but he lacks length and needs to work his hands better to shed blocks. He can still get stuck and struggle to disengage, often trying to spin off or go around instead of through like a smaller guy. It’s correctable and he’ll get better but his run defense has only been average.
It’s perhaps one reason why Roberts has chewed into his nickel reps the last three weeks. From Weeks 1-5, Wilson logged 95.8-percent of the Steelers’ nickel snaps. Over the last three weeks, that’s down to 72.4-percent.
Wilson still looks like a solid pick, and importantly, he’s been healthy, even if the pre-draft concerns were more long-term than short-term. But there’s work to do.
4. OT Troy Fautanu
Pittsburgh had high hopes for Fautanu and gave him every chance to start and contribute. An MCL sprain in his preseason debut didn’t get him off track and the team started him in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos. After the team scrapped their planned right tackle rotation between him and Broderick Jones because of Jones’ repeated penalties and errors, Fautanu finished out the game. Across his 55 snaps, his play was solid though not spectacular. It was also the last of his rookie regular season. He went down with a dislocated kneecap later that week in practice, out for the rest of the regular season and only an outside shot for the playoffs.
It’s an injury and situation analogous to David DeCastro’s rookie year, who missed three months with his own dislocated kneecap. DeCastro returned to have an excellent career and Fautanu could do the same. We’ll just have to wait longer to see. From the small window we saw in camp, he’s strong and athletic but needs to get better defending inside rushes and counters. Unfortunately, his rookie year is mostly a lost cause.
5. WR Roman Wilson
Wilson is only above the other names by virtue of making the 53 and dressing for a game, seeing all of five offensive snaps in a Week 6 against the Las Vegas Raiders. He was not targeted and some of those scant snaps came late with the game over.
Wilson currently resides on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury. Being hurt has been the theme of his 2024, first dealing with a prolonged ankle sprain followed by the hamstring a few weeks ago. It’s possible he returns late in the year, but with so much time missed in the summer and fall, his rookie season is looking like a total washout.
T-6: DL Logan Lee/S Ryan Watts
Tying the two together since they find themselves in essentially the same spot. Both are on IR with Watts definitively out for the year and Lee unlikely to return. Watts suffered a neck injury on one of the final preseason plays while Lee made the initial 53 but was eventually moved to IR before Week 1 due to a calf injury.
Of the two, Watts had the more intriguing preseason. He’s vocal, a hitter, and held his own making the move to safety, though he took lumps and made mistakes. Lee was miscast at nose tackle and didn’t look good there but it’s tough to evaluate his play. He did hustle and chase the ball well. But both will try to stick in camp next summer.
