The Pittsburgh Steelers got some positive contributions from half of their rookie class, but the rest spent the season injured. Four of their seven draft picks landed on the Reserve/Injured List for most of the 2024 season. Only two spent time on the 53-man roster, both appearing in one game.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers have forgotten about them by any means. After all, the group includes first-round OT Troy Fautanu, who entered the starting lineup before his season-ending injury. Third-round WR Roman Wilson could also be an impact player in 2025.
With the unusually large number of injuries, the Steelers will likely treat this offseason like a bonus half-a-draft class. In previous years, when a prominent rookie missed the season due to injury, they would use similar verbiage. After Senquez Golson’s rookie injury, they referred to the former second-round pick as being like a 2016 draft pick.
Well, the Steelers have four extra draft picks this year in that sense, including a couple of big ones. Fautanu and Wilson, of course, will be starters or potential starters. There is also DB Ryan Watts, whom the Steelers were intrigued by, and DL Logan Lee at a position of need.
“It’s almost like a redshirt year for those guys,” Khan told Rob King for the Steelers’ website when discussing their injured rookies. “You hate that that happened, that these guys got injured. Because we felt that all of these guys could have helped us last year. Guys get hurt, and unfortunately, we had [that with] some draft picks. But I’m glad we have them going into 2025.”
The 2024 season marked the second straight year in which the Steelers retained all their draft picks. Lee and Watts landed on IR before the season even began, however. Fautanu started in Week 2 but suffered a dislocated knee cap. Wilson spent a lot of time recovering from a training camp ankle injury. After finally debuting in Week 6, he injured his hamstring. Two weeks later, they put him on IR as well.
Of course, we can’t ignore that the Steelers benefitted from those rookies who did play. Second-round pick Zach Frazier proved to be a plug-and-play center whom Khan praised in other interviews. Another third-round pick, ILB Payton Wilson, played a major role on defense with a bigger one to come. While it wasn’t the plan, fourth-round OG Mason McCormick started most of the season due to injury.
The Steelers drafted McCormick last year, hoping he could potentially develop into a starter by 2025. While they may not hand him the starting job, Khan certainly sang his praises repeatedly in about a half-dozen different interviews on Tuesday.
The Steelers’ 2024 draft class should have a big impact on the upcoming season and potentially years to come. It should make up three-fifths of their starting offensive line, after all. The Wilsons, Roman and Payton, could also be starters for a while. The player I’m most intrigued by is Ryan Watts — provided he is healthy enough to play.
