With the 21st pick, the Steelers should …
Between now and sometime tonight, when the Steelers finally make their first pick in the NFL draft, you will hear everyone from Mel Kiper Jr. to rowdy fans at the Golden Triangle offer their suggestions on who that pick should be.
Most people believe the Steelers, who have a glaring need at left guard and received some less-than-encouraging news Monday after tackle Broderick Jones’ neck injury that sidelined him for the final seven games of last year, will draft an offensive lineman. The popular pick among draftniks is Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane. He is the top-rated player at the position.
One of the problems with rookie offensive linemen is they usually take time to fit into a team’s system. For every Alan Faneca, David DeCastro and Zach Frazier, there’s a Jamain Stephens, Mike Adams and Kraig Urbik.
The other position of need for the Steelers is wide receiver. They signed free agent Michael Pittman, but he replaces Calvin Austin, who is now with the New York Giants. After D.J. Metcalf and Pittman, there’s not much at wide receiver. And new head coach Mike McCarthy’s offensive system utilizes more wide receivers than Arthur Smith’s tight end-heavy system ever did.
This is considered a deep draft for wide receivers, though the top-3 of Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, USC’s Makai Lemon and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson are unlikely to be available when the draft reaches the Steelers’ first pick at No. 21.
At some point, Pittsburgh will select a quarterback. Not because Aaron Rodgers hasn’t given Pittsburgh a firm commitment to playing in 2026, but because Rodgers is 42 years old. Alabama’s Ty Simpson should be on the board at No. 21, but he started only 15 games for the Crimson Tide and he’s a project. Do you really want to use a first-round pick on a quarterback project?
McCarthy, though he’s Pittsburgh-born, is trying to establish his own style, and his own system with the Steelers. The fastest way he can endear himself with the fans and the organization, and shed the shadow of Mike Tomlin, is to help orchestrate a successful draft. And one way to do that is to stay away from players considered to be projects with high upside, and instead stick to players who have been productive and can immediately fill a need area.
The problem for the Steelers is their 21st draft position. Ioane might be gone before that pick. Baltimore, at No. 14, and Tampa Bay one pick later, both could be interested in drafting a guard. Maybe even the New York Giants at No. 10. There are several tackles, Utah’s Spencer Fano and Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor included, who could move to guard in the NFL, but those two also should be off the board before it’s time for the Steelers to pick.
The top wide receivers should be off the board by pick No. 16, leaving Indiana’s Omar Cooper or Washington’s Denzel Boston for Pittsburgh. And it’s not a certainty that both will still be available at No. 21.
The Steelers have plenty of picks in this draft, a dozen in all. If you want to make a splash pick with a new coach, and in a draft that is being held in Pittsburgh, then the best option for the Steelers is to trade up and get the player you covet. They have enough draft capital to swing a trade to move up eight or nine spots.
General manager Omar Kahn should be working the phones hard to swing a trade to move up in the first round. This is the year that quality outweighs quantity of draft picks for the Steelers.
Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com