If the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to draft a defensive lineman in the first round, they should have options. That is the opinion of NFL Draft expert Tony Pauline, who discussed the team’s needs on 93.7 The Fan recently.
Asked about how many top defensive linemen the Steelers might have to choose from at 21, he said, “I think at least two of them”. He added that the 49ers might draft Walter Nolen but thinks “there’s a chance that Kenneth Grant or Derek Harmon could be available”.
Grant and Harmon seem to be the most popular players in Steelers mock drafts, though quarterbacks are finding room now too. Especially after they brought in Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart for pre-draft visits. Indeed, even Pauline seems to believe Sanders will be their pick.
Everything, of course, is speculation, because none of us truly know how teams feel about any players. We can infer and we can go on reports, but unless we see their draft board, it’s all guesswork. Even what we think we know might be camouflage. We think the Steelers want to draft a defensive lineman because they brought in eight for pre-draft visits. Yet of the top names, they only brought in one, so what does that mean?
And it’s a whole other matter when you’re trying to figure out what all 32 teams are thinking. It’s one thing to have a pulse on what the Steelers might do in the draft, but what about the 20 teams in front of them? Pauline suggested that the Dolphins and Bengals are two teams in front of them to watch out for.
Regardless of who is available, he does believe the Steelers have good options in the draft. “I think Nolen, I think Harmon, I even think Grant would be good fits for their system”, he said. “I like Kenneth Grant because I think he could line up in a three-man front, he’s incredibly athletic, he has a tremendous amount of upside. Mason Graham was the more consistent force on that Michigan defensive line, but it was Kenneth Grant who was just explosive, made some wild plays, just played with a sense of suddenness”.
The fact that the Steelers don’t have a second-round draft pick complicates things. While this is a deep defensive line class, which could push quality prospects down the board, you also don’t want to miss out on the top names.
Back in 2011, another year of a deep defensive line draft class, the Steelers didn’t wait. They used their first-round pick, 31st overall, on Cameron Heyward. In an ordinary year, there is no way a player of his caliber would have been available that late. So if a lineman is available at 21 whom you normally wouldn’t find that late, I say take him.
