When Omar Khan and Andy Weidl conducted their first draft as executives at the top of the Pittsburgh Steelers organizational food
chain, size mattered to them.
They selected a big tight end, a tall cornerback, and an offensive and defensive lineman with the four picks they utilized across the first
three rounds of the 2023 draft.
They recently grew in size. They grew into a very large club, according to Daniel Jeremiah, draft expert for NFL.com.
For the second year of the Khan-Weidl administration, Jeremiah anticipates more of the same. Massive linemen in the trenches and
larger players to fill in at wide receiver and possibly the secondary.
“I don’t believe they’re finished,” Jeremiah remarked. They seem to have a distinct idea of what kind of club they want, and I
This week’s NFL Combine, a week-long event in Indianapolis that will draw 321 of college football’s top prospects, is the next step in
the Steelers’ evaluation process as they attempt to set their draft board.
Early in the week is when interviews and medical examinations take place, and on-field testing takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium from
Thursday through Sunday.
It will provide Khan and Weidl an opportunity to observe firsthand a draft class they think will be competitive with their 2023 picks, in
which the Steelers selected tight end Darnell Washington, defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, offensive tackle Broderick Jones, and
cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on the first two days of the draft.
Considering that former starting right tackle Chuks Okorafor was recently released and that the two-year
The Steelers hadn’t taken a tackle in the first round since 1996 until they traded up to acquire Jones last season. Could they defy
history and carry it out twice in a row?
According to Jeremiah, whose most recent mock draft had the Steelers selecting Washington guard/tackle Troy Fautanu, “I could see
them going with another offensive lineman.” “I think that’s very much in play, whether that’s a guard/center type, or a tackle on the
other side of Broderick Jones.”
Fortunately for the Steelers, most draft experts predict that a plethora of interior linemen and tackles will be available when the team
selects at No. 20 in the first round or No. 51 in the second.
Matt Miller, an ESPN draft analyst, has left.
Despite the fact that he predicts multiple right tackle candidates to be available at No. 20, he projects tackles Joe Alt of Notre Dame
and Olumuyiwa Fashanu of Penn State to go in the first nine choices. He predicted that Amarius Mims, Jones’ old Georgia teammate,
will be selected by the Steelers in the first round.
Owing to injuries and the depth of players ahead of him on the roster, Mims only started eight games at right tackle for the Bulldogs.
Jones had a comparable experience and only made 19 college starts.
According to Miller, Mims’ eight starts were on par with any lineman in his class. “At twenty, he seems like a decent deal. Reunite
these two, place Broderick back on the left, and place a young man who is
Miller predicted that the Steelers would double dive on the O-line and select Zach Frazier, a center from West Virginia, in their most
recent two-round mock draft. That prediction was made prior to Cole’s Friday release by the Steelers, which left them without a roster
spot for the offseason and without any proven starting centers.
The Steelers may consider Jackson Powers-Johnson of Oregon or even Frazier in the first round as a result of Cole’s release. Graham
Barton of Duke and Sedrick Van Pran of Georgia are further possibilities.
Frazier “fits the mentality the Steelers want on their offensive line,” according to Miller. Although he is quite strong and physically fit,
his quickness is flawless for a player at the second level.
Jeremiah is also optimistic about the quantity of interior offensive line prospects that the Steelers have access to.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
