After a verty busy start to the new NFL league year for the Pittsburgh Steelers, there is a lot of interest in how they will follow it up at this year’s NFL Draft.
They have a few different directions they could go with their first pick.
The team doesn’t have a WR2 after they traded Diontae Johnson.
Their corner situation still isn’t entirely settled even after adding Donte Jackson.
They also have major needs at center and offensive tackle.
It seems that could be the direction they are planning to go in the first round.
According to 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette’s Ray Fittipaldo said that he is “99% sure” the Steelers will take an offensive lineman with their first-round pick.
Steelers’ O-Line Needs
While the Steelers’ roster needs have changed throughout the offseason, there is one thing that has been constant for the last couple of months.
They need to get better on their offensive line.
Right now, they don’t have a center on their roster. They cut Mason Cole, who was their starter in 2023, earlier this offseason.
They have to get somebody they believe can be their starter before the draft is offer.
Their need at tackle is a bit more fluid right now. Their left tackle play wasn’t good in 2023, but there are multiple ways they can fix that.
They already have Broderick Jones, who they drafted in round one last year.
He spent 2023 at right tackle, but left tackle is his natural position.
The team could draft a right tackle, move Jones back to the left, and improve at both spots.
They could also just draft a left tackle and hope Jones improves with a year under his belt on the right side.
However they decide to address their O-Line needs in round one, they;ll have plenty of talented options to choose from.
Plenty of Offensive Line Options
If the Steelers are drafting an offensive lineman in the first round, they are going to have plenty of options to choose from.
If an offensive tackle is what they are looking for, this class is loaded with first round talents.
Taliese Fuaga, Troy Fautanu, Olumuyiwa Fashanu, JC Latham, Amarius Mims, and Tyler Guyton have all been predicted as the team’s first round pick in different mock drafts.
If the team is looking for a center, Jackson Powers-Johnson is a potential first rounder that could immediately take over the team’s starting spot at the position.
There is also Duke’s Graham Barton. He spent most of his college career playing left tackle, but is expected to move to center in the NFL. That versatility could be appealing for a Steelers team that has needs at both positions.
It’s just about impossible to know which player will be the one they take at pick 20.
There are a lot of teams picking in front of them that need O-Line help and starter-quality O-Line play isn’t an easy thing to find these days.
However, there have been some hints.
The team has shown a lot of interest in Mims. They interviewed him at the NFL Combine. Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin were at his Pro Day. They recently brought him in for a pre-draft visit, according to Fittipaldo.
Whether it’s Mims or any of the other options on the O-Line, it looks like the Steelers are expected to get a lot stronger up front in the first round of the draft.
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Steelers Writer ‘99% Sure’ of Team’s Plan for Round 1 of NFL Draft