Who will be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first round pick? One week from today, we’ll know. But their choice seems as uncertain as ever. This year perhaps more than any in recent memory has been difficult to nail down in terms of position and prospect.
Still, we’ll use our Steelers Depot “Blue’s Clues” to create a short list of the team’s most likely choices. In the Mike Tomlin era, there’s been a consistent trend between the team’s first-round picks and its pre-draft interest. The Steelers don’t use smokescreens, not wanting to make a difficult process even harder by deceptively not showing interest in players they like.
The criteria to be in Round 1 contention is simple. Have Tomlin and/or the Steelers’ general manager attend your Pro Day or be brought in for a pre-draft visit. From there, we can use trends based on the team needs, the positions it has shown the most interest in, and what simply makes sense to create a short list of prospects.
Below, we’ll make a list of prospects in three ways. Those who check the basic boxes (Tomlin/Khan Pro Day visit or pre-draft invite), those who are likely to be available at No. 21, and a final box of the ones who are likely to be on the board at positions of need and align with the team’s overall pre-draft activity. If we’ve done our homework right, one of the Steelers’ selections will come from that final crop of names.
Let’s dive in.
We’ll begin with the initial short list. Any first round-caliber prospect who had Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan attend their Pro Day or came in for a pre-draft visit. They will be ordered by position.
Initial Steelers First-Round Short List (21 Names)
Jalen Milroe/QB Alabama
Shedeur Sanders/QB Colorado
Jaxson Dart/QB Ole Miss
TreVeyon Henderson/RB Ohio State
Omarion Hampton/RB North Carolina
Matthew Golden/WR Texas
Emeka Egbuka/WR Ohio State
Josh Simmons/OT Ohio State
Kelvin Banks Jr./OT Texas
Tyler Booker/OG Alabama
Derrick Harmon/DL Oregon
Mason Graham/DL Michigan
Kenneth Grant/NT Michigan
Mykel Williams/EDGE Georgia
Shemar Stewart/EDGE Texas A&M
Jihaad Campbell/ILB Alabama
Jalon Walker/LB Georgia
Benjamin Morrison/CB Notre Dame
Will Johnson/CB Michigan
Malaki Starks/S Georgia
Nick Emmanwori/S South Carolina
Lots of names for a “short list.” But we’re starting broad. Even more could’ve been added like Ohio State DL Tyleik Williams and Texas DL Alfred Collins but those feel more like solid second rounders than being in first-round consideration.
And reportedly, the Steelers’ brass went to Michigan the night before the Wolverines’ Pro Day and presumably had dinner with the likes of Grant. They flew home to meet with Aaron Rodgers the following day. The Pro Day is more about getting to know the prospect than it is the physical workout itself so this was still an important box for the Michigan guys to check.
While the list is long, there are notable names that didn’t make the cut. They include Ole Miss DL Walter Nolen, Missouri WR Luther Burden III, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, and Penn State TE Tyler Warren.
Now, let’s cut the list down. We’ll remove prospects who are unlikely to fall to No. 21 and aren’t at positions of need/interest for Pittsburgh.
Steelers “Smart” First-Round Short List (11 Prospects)
Jalen Milroe/QB Alabama
Jaxson Dart/QB Ole Miss
Shedeur Sanders/QB Colorado
Omarion Hampton/RB North Carolina
TreVeyon Henderson/RB Ohio State
Matthew Golden/WR Texas
Emeka Egbuka/WR Ohio State
Derrick Harmon/DL Oregon
Kenneth Grant/NT Michigan
Malaki Starks/S Georgia
Nick Emmanwori/S South Carolina
Our list cut virtually in half. Gone are higher-end first-rounders like Jalon Walker and Mason Graham along with players at lesser needs like OG Tyler Booker and EDGE Shemar Stewart. Others like CB Benjamin Morrison have also been removed, a more subjective decision but an unlikely selection.
Finally, we can reduce the list once more. Based on the position groups they’ve most actively looked at to create our final and most aggressive list of names.
Steelers “Aggressive” First-Round Short List (Six Names)
Jalen Milroe/QB Alabama
Shedeur Sanders/QB Colorado
Matthew Golden/WR Texas
Emeka Egbuka/WR Ohio State
Derrick Harmon/DL Oregon
Kenneth Grant/NT Michigan
Reduced in half one more time. It leaves us with two quarterbacks. It was a tough decision including Jalen Milroe over Jaxson Dart and Dart could’ve replaced or joined Milroe. While Dart is viewed as the stronger prospect overall, the fact Pittsburgh went to Alabama’s Pro Day and watched Milroe throw and didn’t for Dart is notable. Would Pittsburgh draft its future franchise quarterback without watching him throw at a Pro Day workout? Sure, Dart threw at the Senior Bowl and Combine but it’s still a tough sell.
The others are more obvious. Golden is a top-three receiver of the class, Egbuka is a clean prospect who “feels” like a Steeler while d-line has been a favorite to be drafted since the season ended. Add Shedeur Sanders and it leaves us with six names on our final Pittsburgh draft short list. I could rank them but don’t want to potentially spoil my final mock draft next week. So I’ll just say Milroe and Egbuka would be at the bottom of this final short list.
Time will tell if one of those six is the next to put on a Steelers uniform.
You’re free to suggest your own short lists below. I imagine you have disagreements.
