Throughout the years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have drafted well. It’s part of the reason they’ve remained successful despite their lack of major moves in the offseason. However, in recent years, there’s definitely been some misses, and some players who simply haven’t developed as well as the Steelers would have hoped. Speaking on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday, former NFL GM Doug Whaley argued that is one of the Steelers’ biggest issues.
“I think that’s one of the biggest things they need to focus on,” Whaley said. “Not drafting, not coaching, player development. Besides T.J. Watt, maybe Alex Highsmith and Pat Freiermuth, who has developed? Who have they drafted and developed? Because when we draft ’em, everybody thinks, ‘Hey, these guys have a chance to be a stalwart on this team.’ But a lot of ’em haven’t developed.”
If you wanted to agree with Whaley here, there are a couple of examples that might support that claim. In 2023, Pittsburgh selected OT Broderick Jones in the first round, DL Keeanu Benton in the second, and TE Darnell Washington in the third. It would be harsh to call any of these players a bust.
However, the case could be made that the Steelers haven’t got quite as much as they’d hoped from the first three rounds of that draft. CB Joey Porter Jr., sandwiched between Jones and Benton in terms of draft placement, has shown the most consistency from that group.
The 2022 class hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype, either. We don’t have to go into detail about the miss that was Kenny Pickett in the first round. However, the Steelers just haven’t gotten much from that class in general. Although injuries have hurt him, third-round pick DeMarvin Leal has found it tough to make an impact so far.
With that said, Whaley’s criticism is a little harsh.
In 2021, the Steelers’ first two picks were Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth. Whaley does give Pittsburgh credit for developing Freiermuth. However, they should get some credit for Harris as well. Sure, he had his limitations. However, getting four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons out of a draft pick is worthy of something.
Even in 2022, George Pickens turned into an excellent player for the Steelers. He didn’t develop as well as they’d like in terms of his locker room presence, but certainly produced with a lack of quality quarterback play. And in the 2024 draft, the Steelers got one heck of a center in Zach Frazier. He truly has a chance to become the best NFL player at his position, so it’s hard to say Pittsburgh hasn’t been developing him. The jury is still out on Roman Wilson, but he has plenty of opportunity heading into 2025 as well.
All things considered, there are some instances to prove that developing talent is one of the Steelers’ biggest issues. However, it’s not as if they just can’t do it. They could do a better job, but in each of the past few drafts, there are examples showing the Steelers can develop certain players just fine.
