The Pittsburgh Steelers have long shied away from major offseason moves, a few wide receiver trades this year notwithstanding. Still, they’ve remained competitive through their ability to draft well over the years. Unfortunately, the Steelers’ 2022 draft was not one of those occasions. CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco regraded every team’s 2022 class in an article published on Tuesday, and he gave the Steelers’ class a ‘D-‘.
“Of their seven picks, one is a starter heading into the season, that being fourth-round receiver Calvin Austin [III],” Prisco wrote. “Second-round receiver George Pickens would have been a starter, but they traded him to the Cowboys for a third-round pick two weeks ago. They whiffed on first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett, who is now with the Browns, his third team. The rest of the draft didn’t produce much, either. They are chasing a quarterback because of the Pickett miss.”
The Steelers’ class starts on a pretty bad note given that they used a premium pick on Pickett in a weak quarterback class. Pickett was the first quarterback off the board at 22nd overall. Nevertheless, the Steelers felt a need to find their quarterback of the future with Ben Roethlisberger’s career in the rearview mirror.
Clearly that move did not work out. After a rough two years in Pittsburgh, Pickett is now with the Browns. He may actually have a chance to start in 2025, which should say a lot about the Browns’ quarterback room. Fortunately, the Steelers seem to have learned from that mistake. With the 21st overall pick in this year’s draft, the Steelers had their chance to take just about any quarterback they wanted. Instead, they played it smart and didn’t make the same mistake twice.
The Steelers did manage to draft an impact player early in 2022 in WR George Pickens. However, despite all of things the second-round pick brought on the field during his three seasons as a Steeler, there were plenty of problems as well. Pickens is now a Dallas Cowboy, and the Steelers got a 2026 third-round pick in return.
In the third round, at the 84th overall pick, the Steelers took defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal. Unfortunately, he’s yet to make much of an impact. It’s not entirely his fault, though. Leal suffered a season-ending neck injury just five games into the 2024 season. Through 28 career games, he has one sack, three tackles for a loss and 33 total tackles.
In the fourth round, Pittsburgh grabbed another WR in Calvin Austin III. He’s the only player from this class who has a chance to start for the Steelers in 2025. Austin didn’t make waves to begin his career, but he did take a nice step forward in 2024. He’ll have plenty of opportunities this year given the Steelers’ lack of depth at the position.
Beyond that, there’s not much to be excited about with their last three picks: TE Connor Heyward, LB Mark Robinson and QB Chris Oladokun. Any pick beyond the fifth round is rarely going to be a star, so their lack of production is not necessarily a surprise. After a weak first four rounds, though, the Steelers’ 2022 draft would have been viewed in a more positive light if one of those three had made a bigger impact.
All things considered, it’s hard to argue with Prisco’s ‘D-‘ grade here. Austin is probably the only reason it’s not an ‘F’. Two of the Steelers’ first three picks didn’t make it to the fourth year of their rookie contract. That’s not ideal, to say the least. Under Omar Khan, the Steelers have drafted better since this poor class. Looking back, though, it’s not a fun class to reminisce about.
