For the past two years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have selected an offensive tackle in the first round of the draft. Those two picks have been a mixed bag so far. Broderick Jones didn’t take a leap in his second year, often struggling. Troy Fautanu unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury early in his rookie year, so it’s unclear what his skill level is. It sounds like that has the Steelers sniffing around some of the tackles in this year’s draft, with the University of Florida’s Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson confirming he met with the Steelers.
“I’ve talked to quite a few teams today,” Crenshaw-Dickson said to Steelers Depot at the East-West Shrine Bowl. “Steelers, the Dolphins, Giants, Cowboys. There’s been a lot of teams I’ve been talking to recently.”
Crenshaw-Dickson is a mammoth of a man, standing around 6-foot-7 and weighing well over 300 pounds. He spent the past season with Florida, but before that, he played four seasons with San Diego State. Crenshaw-Dickson has been a consistent starter since 2021, bouncing back and forth between left and right tackle.
The Steelers have shown to love versatility in their offensive linemen in recent years. Jones and Fautanu have each worked on both sides of the offensive line since getting drafted. It sounds like Crenshaw-Dickson has no worries continuing to be versatile at the NFL level.
“I’ve been telling every coach like, it’s gonna take me about two weeks to get acclimated back, switch everything in my mind,” he said. “I’ve been playing left and right. At Florida, I played all right. When I was at San Diego State, I played left and right, switching between the years and everything.”
That probably raises his stock in the Steelers’ minds. His ability to quickly adapt to either side of the offensive line likely makes him an intriguing target for many teams. Crenshaw-Dickson doesn’t seem to be lacking suitors. It sounds like he’s met with several NFL teams so far.
When asked what specifically the Steelers were talking to him about, Crenshaw-Dickson explained that conversation went into who he is off the football field as much as he is on it.
“They were just checking out my background, checking out how I got from San Diego State to Florida,” he said. “I mean, That’s a big move. And just kind of seeing my weaknesses and my strengths in my game.”
It sounds like there is interest from the Steelers in Crenshaw-Dickson. He could be a decent mid-round option to provide them with insurance up front. Even if Fautanu and Jones play well, the Steelers dealt with more than their fair share of injuries along the offensive line last year. Having Crenshaw-Dickson available as a backup wouldn’t be a bad thing.
As the Shrine Bowl continues on, we’ll see how Crenshaw-Dickson performs on the field. He had a successful college career, but he could still continue to boost his stock. In a few months, perhaps he could land in Pittsburgh.
