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Either Omar Khan is playing the game unlike his predecessor Kevin Colbert ever did, or the Steelers’ new general manager is one of the worst at keeping his plans for the first round of the NFL Draft a secret.
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If you have paid attention to what Khan has said during the draft process over the last few months and merge it with what the Steelers did in free agency — as well as the philosophy new assistant general manager Andy Weidl brought with him from Philadelphia — there it is, in plain sight: The Steelers are more than willing to move up in the draft to select on an offensive tackle.
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“I’d say all options are on the table. If there’s a good football player and we have the opportunity to go get him, if we can get him, we’re going to go get him,” Khan said in February.
“We will be working hard to try to identify other teams’ needs and trying to figure out what they are doing. It is our advantage to do that. We will be paying attention,” Khan said a month later.
Steelers GM Omar Khan willing to trade up in first round of the draft
via @TheAthletic https://t.co/Y1plDfIaJF
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) April 20, 2023
With the Steelers in potential no-man’s-land with the 17th pick, it might be more conducive to stick there and let the draft board come to you. But it appears Khan won’t think twice about using the team’s extra draft capital (four picks in the top 80, including two of the top 32) to move up.
The front office addressed every other glaring position in free agency, sans depth edge rusher. Even though Mike Tomlin openly said at the league meetings that he’s comfortable with tackles Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor, being comfortable doesn’t mean being happy. Both are mid-level tackles, and both will become free agents after the 2024 season.
The Steelers don’t have a storied history of moving up in the draft. They did it three times under Colbert and hit on two of them — Troy Polamalu and Santonio Holmes — and struck out on the other (Devin Bush). But the self-proclaimed “aggressive” Khan is different.
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Khan traded Chase Claypool at the deadline in November and added Allen Robinson last week.
So, if we go by the few clues that are out there, the Steelers would be willing to trade up to upgrade their offensive line. Now, how the draft breaks could alter that outcome, but don’t completely rule out moving up in the draft if the preferred tackle is on the board.
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The Steelers have four picks in the first 80 and could even use next year’s capital to make a trade if they choose.
Dane Brugler’s The Beast, the complete 2023 NFL Draft Guide, is now available.
Round 1 (No. 12), from Browns via Texans
OT Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State
Projected trade: Steelers send Nos. 17, 80 and 2024 third-round pick to Texans for Nos. 12, 104
To trade up in the first round, two things must occur — the player you want must be there, and a team must be willing to move back. Johnson is the top-ranked tackle by The Athletic’s draft expert, Dane Brugler, and 12th in his Top 300.
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The Steelers and Tomlin dined with Johnson and other Ohio State linemen the day before their pro day, so there’s interest. Historically, dining with a prospect (like Artie Burns and T.J. Watt) is much more of an indication of a first-round pick than prospect visits.
Offensive tackle is one of the few positions the Steelers didn’t address in the offseason. They brought in LeRaven Clark, but his resume isn’t stacked, leaving things up to Okorafor and Moore again. Both played all but one snap in 2022, with mixed results.
Pro Football Focus gave Moore and Okorafor overall grades in the low 60s. Moore allowed seven sacks and Okorafor three, but the inconsistencies were noticeable, especially with Moore, who has started 33 of 34 games since being drafted in 2021. He was called for nine penalties in 17 games.
However, Moore had the highest PFF grade of the Steelers’ offensive linemen over the last nine weeks of the season, when the Steelers averaged 147 rushing yards per game and were held to less than 100 yards on the ground just once, going 7-2.
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The Steelers haven’t drafted a tackle in the first round since 1996, mostly because they didn’t have much need or opportunity to do so.
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Others considered: None
Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah. (Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Round 2 (No. 32), from Bears
OLB Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State
Using the 32nd pick on an edge rusher when you have Watt and Alex Highsmith seems crazy, but there might be a method to their madness. First, the Steelers addressed every position in the offseason to some degree except tackle and edge rusher. The days of waiting for a retread need to end.
There is room for a third edge rusher, and even more so considering the injury risk with Watt and Highsmith. Anudike-Uzomah came in for a top-30 visit, which shows the Steelers are at least somewhat interested in the KSU rusher. He has turned into a pretty good pass rusher, totaling 19.5 sacks, 25.5 tackles for loss and eight forced fumbles in 27 starts the past two years.
He was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. He can refine his play in a limited capacity while Watt and Highsmith get most of the reps. The Steelers could also eventually use their trio of edge guys to move around and play on the inside, as they’ve done occasionally over the past few years.
Others considered: DT Mazi Smith, Michigan; CB Cam Smith, South Carolina
Round 2 (No. 49)
OT Matthew Bergeron, Syracuse
The Steelers tend to add tackles around the third round, and Bergeron might be the sleeper in the group. He has zipped up draft boards because of his ability to run block as well as having the ability to play both tackle and guard positions. Brugler has him as his 54th prospect and fifth offensive tackle.
Loading up on the offensive line with two picks over their first 49 would be an unusual tactic. The Steelers last did that in 2012, when they picked David DeCastro in the first and Mike Adams in the second. They also drafted Kelvin Beachum with the last of their four seventh-round picks that year.
Bergeron has turned himself from a low-level recruit to a second-day draft pick. He’s very similar to Moore, as he is a much better run blocker than a pass blocker. Bergeron allowed 12 pressures on 392 pass-blocking snaps for an 80.9 pass-blocking grade in 2022, per PFF. The Steelers need to start fortifying the line with draft picks rather than also-rans, and what better way to do that than with two picks in the first 49?
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Others considered: CB Julius Brents, Kansas State; G/C Steve Avila, TCU
Round 4 (No. 104), from Texans
CB Cory Trice, Purdue
Trice started all 13 games for the Boilermakers last year and had an eye-opening 12 passes defensed. He is big and strong and is good at jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage. He is 6-3, 227, and ran a 4.47 at the combine. With that size, he could provide box-safety capabilities if warranted (he came to Purdue as a box safety).
Cory Trice Jr. is a CB prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.65 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 78 out of 2212 CB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/e8gcJeClB1 pic.twitter.com/tfR1WztefY
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 14, 2023
Health has been an issue. He tore his ACL in 2021 and has had knee, ankle and groin injuries since his junior year.
The Steelers need more talent at the position that is currently being maintained by Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace. Both might be gone for the 2024 season, making the position something of a need. The Steelers could address it in the first round, but that’s not guaranteed, especially if a tackle is around.
Some have Trice lower (he did not crack the top 100 on our latest consensus big board), but Brugler has him as his 88th prospect, writing, “Trice might never be a high-level technician, but he has exceptional size, speed and change-of-direction skills to be a disruptive cover man both early and late in the rep. He offers position versatility with starting potential in press-man or Cover 3 schemes.”
Others considered: WR Cedric Tillman, Tennessee; LB Dorian Williams, Tulane
Round 4 (No. 120)
WR Jayden Reed, Michigan State
Even though the Steelers traded for Robinson and still have no idea what Calvin Austin III can offer, they are always on the lookout for a receiver. Diontae Johnson’s contract expires in two years, and who knows what Robinson and Austin will provide?
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The Steelers brought in Reed for a top-30 visit and are intrigued by his big-play ability. He accounted for 46 explosive plays (20-plus yards) over the past two seasons and became just the third player in school history with multiple punt return touchdowns in the same season. The Steelers are thin in the return game, and Reed could be a cheaper replacement for Gunner Olszewski.
There is some injury history, which probably was the reason they brought him for a visit, but Reed has a history with pro scouting coordinator Sheldon White, who was the executive director of player personnel and recruiting at Michigan State during Reed’s time there.
Don’t understand the lack of love on here for Michigan State’s Jayden Reed, who is one of most “complete” WRs in this class.@JaydenReed5 has legit size (5106v, 191v) compared to many of smaller slot types and he torched dudes all week at @seniorbowl. 🔥
Smart teams know. pic.twitter.com/QCIMtKhk0H
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 20, 2023
Reed had 1,026 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2021. He can play outside and in the slot.
Others considered: DT Colby Wooden, Auburn; LB Dorian Williams, Tulane
Round 7 (No. 241), from Vikings via Broncos
QB Max Duggan, TCU
The Steelers need to add a young quarterback in the draft who plays similarly to Kenny Pickett. Duggan proved to be a winner at TCU last year and earned a chance to show what he can do in the NFL. He was a four-year starter and is still only 22 years old with big-game experience under his belt. With only two quarterbacks on Pittsburgh’s roster, adding one in the draft seems like a sure bet. Brugler calls him a “project,” which is just fine for a team that has Pickett as its starter.
Others considered: QB Clayton Tune, Houston; QB Stetson Bennett, Georgia
Round 7 (No. 251), from Rams
OLB/ILB Isaiah Land, Florida Atlantic
The Steelers love to take players with high upside late in the draft. They did that with Mark Robinson last year, and Land could be that guy this year. He is a talented edge rusher who needs to learn the position at a high level. He would be able to fit in well as a core special teamer while developing.
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Brugler: “Land needs to continue strengthening his body to become stouter for NFL front-seven play, but he has the athletic traits to hold up in space and the rush skills to chase the quarterback on sub-downs. He is a high-end developmental prospect with ‘buy low’ stock that has boom potential for a team willing to invest.”
Others considered: S Tanner Ingle, N.C. State; S Christian Young, Arizona
Additional Reading
(Photo of Paris Johnson Jr: Ken Murray / Getty Images)
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