Would the Steelers pass up RB Ashton Jeanty if he were available to them in the 2025 NFL Draft?
The Steelers want to run the ball, and Ashton Jeanty is the best running back in the class. While the increasing consensus believes Jeanty will be gone by the time the Steelers pick, he may be there. So what if he is? Do they draft him or focus on other needs?
Most agree that Pittsburgh needs to draft a defensive lineman in the first round, and it’s hard to argue. After all, after releasing Larry Ogunjobi, right now, they would be starting—Daniel Ekuale? But what if the top defensive linemen are gone, and Ashton Jeanty falls into the Steelers’ lap?
I mean, Jaylen Warren is nice, but is a backfield of him, Kenneth Gainwell, and Cordarrelle Patterson enough? The Steelers want to do better than that, and Jeanty would give them a high-level starter for at least five years. And frankly, an elite running back is a team’s best friend when they don’t have a franchise quarterback.
The Steelers said goodbye to Najee Harris this offseason; will they say hello to Jeanty? Not unless he drops all the way down to 21, because I don’t see a scenario in which they would trade up to get him. But say he does fall—and players rise and fall all the time, like David DeCastro. Then we have to have the value debate.
Increasingly, the running back value conversation is gaining nuance. There is the fungibility conversation, but not all running backs are fungible. You have to treat a Saquon Barkley or a Derrick Henry differently than you would a Najee Harris. If Ashton Jeanty is in that conversation, he is worth a first-round pick—but is he worth the Steelers’ pick this year in particular?
Zooming out, if he were there, he would probably be the best player on the board at 21. The Steelers can’t just take Jeanty because he is the best player, generally, though. He also has to be the best player for their needs at the time, and that will also depend on how the first 20 selections go. There is obviously a scenario in which he is the player who makes the most sense at 21. But how many other players must be unavailable before he is the obvious pick?
The Steelers’ 2024 season has come to its predictably inauspicious end, with yet another one-and-done postseason for HC Mike Tomlin. The offense faltered, and the defense matched it blow for blow, leading to a 21-0 first-half deficit.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. There are other major decisions to make, as well, such as what to do with George Pickens. Do you sign him to an extension, try to trade him, or let him play out his rookie contract?
The Steelers started the 2024 season 10-3, with Mike Tomlin in the Coach of the Year conversation. Wash, rinse, and repeat, and we have another late-season collapse. This may be the worst yet, a four-game losing streak presaging a one-and-done playoff “run”. Welcome to Steelers football.
