Given that Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 first-round pick OT Tory Fautanu missed most of the season with a knee injury, it is impossible to grade the pick. He looked good against the Denver Broncos in Week 2, but we never got to see more from him.
Fautanu says he will be 100 percent for OTAs, and if last year’s short cameo was any indication he can certainly be a fixture at right tackle.
While the Steelers likely don’t regret their selection of Fautanu in the 2024 NFL Draft, a recent re-draft by FOX Sports’ Carmen Vitali and David Helman has Pittsburgh addressing wide receiver with their first pick, taking Marvin Harrison Jr.
“The Steelers went into the draft hell-bent on addressing their offensive line, but it would have seemed insane to think a talent like Harrison would fall all the way down here,” Helman wrote. “Harrison didn’t have the same eye-popping numbers as Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., but he had a plenty productive rookie year and would have helped upgrade Pittsburgh’s passing game.”
Harrison was seen as a generational talent going the draft. The son of Hall of Fame WR Marvin Harrison, he was a college standout with the Ohio State Buckeyes. However, his rookie season was slightly disappointing given the expectations placed on him.
Harrison played 17 games in 2024 and caught 62 passes for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. Those numbers are really good for a rookie wide receiver, but he also was boom or bust. Harrison had two games of over 100 yards and five games where he finished with less than 40 yards (one of those games he left early with an injury).
At pick No. 20 the Steelers would have been licking their chops to draft Harrison, who could have been paired with George Pickens to make a threatening WR corps. Adding Harrison may not have changed much about how the Steelers’ season ended, but it would at least have given them a more explosive offense.
Pittsburgh’s best pick of the 2024 draft came in the second round when it selected C Zach Frazier. However, in this re-draft, Frazier never makes it to Pittsburgh, instead being picked 26th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While drafting Harrison would be a steal for the Steelers, given that they would not be able to draft Frazier or Fautanu, I’m sure they would keep the 2024 draft exactly as it was.
