Carter's Classroom: Can Steelers land next major defensive lineman? taken on the South Side (Weekly Features)

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Georgia's Jordan Davis.

The Steelers' free agency efforts have settled some of the biggest immediate roster needs, like the interior offensive line. That allows Kevin Colbert to keep an open approach to all positions, and finding Pittsburgh's next young star at defensive tackle is an accomplishable task in this NFL Draft class. Even if Stephon Tuitt is able to return in 2022 after missing a full season, he will be 29 years old by the start of the season and Cam Heyward will be 33 years old, pushing both to either be in their prime or the back-end of their best days.

Finding a young stalwart defensive tackle to join Tuitt, Heyward and Tyson Alualu would not only give the older group a youthful boost, but have the potential to set up Mike Tomlin with a defensive tackle who can be the pillar player for the unit when Heyward and Tuitt's careers are winding down. The key will be seeing when the Steelers can access a talented class of defensive linemen in the 2022 NFL Draft.

There's no doubt who the biggest names of this years' class are in both starting Georgia defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt. Both were major parts of the national championship Georgia team and posted freakish results between the NFL Scouting Combine and Georgia's pro day. But the Steelers should absolutely keep their eyes out for a few other top prospects who project to be players selected on the first two days of the NFL Draft. Travis Jones of UConn, Perrion Winfrey of Oklahoma and DeMarvin Leal are other players who've put together resumes that should make them early targets.

But where the Steelers could land any of these prospects is a question that forces a look at which players might require a trade up to get, and which ones might be perfect to wait until their natural draft picks come around. 

Davis is the obvious top prospect of the class at 6-foot-6, 341 lbs. and insane athletic numbers. His 4.78 time in the 40-yard dash was one of the best ever for defensive linemen while his 123-inch broad jump blew away the competition at the combine to show off his explosiveness. Davis is huge, athletic, explosive and bullies offensive linemen regularly. But with all those traits, he's expected to be long gone before the Steelers pick at 20th overall.

The question will be whether the team wants to sacrifice draft capital to get a freakish talent who could define the position in the NFL over the next decade. The Steelers' needs across the roster may make trading up a more difficult and unlikely path, but Davis is a player who would push the envelope. Watch how easily he worked past Arkansas' center and right guard last year with his explosive burst, and then  ran down the running back to finish the play all by himself. What's always evident when watching Davis' film is his explosive first step and how he uses his frame along with his explosiveness to overwhelm opponents at the point of attack:

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That's a game wrecker.

But the Steelers still need to address other positions like safety, wide receiver, and potentially find young additions at cornerback, on the offensive line, and even a quarterback somewhere in this draft. That's a lot of targets to hit with just seven draft picks, and only three picks in the top 100 selections of the NFL Draft to make them. Trading up for one of those talents would mean sacrificing a pick that could address one of those needs.

Wyatt seems to be the universal second-best option behind Davis, as he's also an athletic freak of a defensive tackle with size and explosiveness. His 4.77 seconds in the 40-yard dash just beat Davis by a hair, and his 111-inch broad jump was third-best among defensive tackles at the combine. Wyatt isn't as dominant a force as Davis at 6-foot-3, 304 lbs., but he displays nimble footwork that allow him to combine his decent power with exceptional lateral ability.

That combination does make for a dangerous presence on the defensive line that can provide a challenge for centers and guards to be aware for both power and finesse moves from Wyatt. Watch this pressure and quarterback hit on Alabama's Bryce Young in the SEC Championship. Wyatt twisted from the 3-technique across two gaps to hit the opposite A-gap of Alabama's offensive line and quickly accelerated from his lateral movement into charging Young to force a throwaway:

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Wyatt shows more polish in parts of his game than Davis, but his athletic profile makes his ceiling lower than Davis and his being 24 years old makes him significantly older than the other top defensive tackles in this class. Davis and Jones are both 22 years old while Winfrey and Leal are both 21 years old. 

That may not seem like a big deal to the laymen, but if you know the Steelers' draft tendencies, they traditionally like players to be younger coming out of college so they can have them in their athletic prime for longer periods. Heyward was 21 when he was drafted in 2011, and Tuitt was 20, which gave them both several years to develop into the major interior defensive presences they've become for the Steelers over the last five seasons.

Wyatt wouldn't be precluded from being a prime player for the Steelers if he worked out, but by the time his rookie contract was over, he's be 28 or 29 years old, and only be in his prime for maybe one more decent NFL contract. Tuitt's on the back end of his second contract, while Heyward's in the middle of his third. Wyatt most likely should be a late first round pick, but he doesn't have to be Colbert's guy at 20th overall.

There's debate as to who comes after the Georgia tackles in this class, but for me, there's a clear player who holds the next spot in Jones. His 6-foot-4, 325 lbs. frame is what you want in a defensive tackle, and his athletic profile with a 4.92 on the 40-yard dash, 110-inch broad jump and his 7.33 time in the three-cone drill all show his ability to explode out of his stance and quickly win leverage battles at the line.

But before the combine, Jones put on a very good showing at the Senior Bowl all week, looking good in the game and during practice reps against other senior offensive linemen. Here's him dominating Michigan lineman Andrew Stueber, where he controlled the rep the entire time. Notice how low Jones stayed in his stance while firing off the ball quickly to beat Stueber to the spot. That allowed him to win the leverage battle immediately, and his hands were what finished the deal:

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But you don't have to look at the Senior Bowl either.

UConn isn't a prime school that goes up against top talents in the Big East regularly, but he still has tape where he showed solid refinement in combining his hand technique with his footwork. Watch how he won this rep while wearing No. 57 against Clemson with a swim move to avoid his man. Jones started lined up in A-gap but used a swim move against his opponent, who was looking for a power move and completely whiffed on the block.

But again, Jones made sure to combine good footwork to follow up the move, as you can see he used his right foot to jab outside and help him change his direction to attack the quarterback. The whole time, he maintained a center of balance that allowed him to play with the strength and quickness that's made him rise up draft boards:

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Jones went from potentially a second round pick to a potential first round pick with his performance in the Senior Bowl that's forced more people to look harder at his college tape. He's a player who the Steelers should sprint to the podium to select if he's there when the Steelers' 52nd overall pick in the second round comes. But it's growing more likely that he won't be there, and it may be worth the Steelers' time to consider his resume as their own first round pick.

After Davis, Wyatt and Jones, the dominant freak athletes at defensive tackle will be gone. But that doesn't mean the Steelers shouldn't keep an eye out on day two of the NFL Draft. Winfrey at 6-foot-3, 290 lbs. isn't the biggest, and he only has a 4.89 time in the 40-yard dash in either the combine or Oklahoma's pro day to boast his athleticism through traditional metrics.

Winfrey has a good bit to polish as he wins run defense reps less consistently than the other top defensive line prospects. But he also does have emphatic examples of how disruptive he can be when he puts it all together. Watch this rep from Winfrey against Oklahoma State when he fired out his stance, maintained a lower pad level than his man, and proceeded to tackle both his lineman and the running back while forcing a fumble that resulted in a safety:

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The Steelers could use a player like that as they try to recover from the being the NFL's worst rushing defense in 2021. But he'll have to polish his game to make wins like that safety against Oklahoma State more consistently disruptive.

Another player I see worth looking at is Leal, who does pose an interesting question for Tomlin and Colbert. Leal played numerous positions on Texas A&M's defensive line from inside defensive tackle to lining up as a defensive end. His 6-foot-4, 283 lbs. frame isn't the biggest, and he can occasionally get pushed around by bigger offensive linemen who get their hands on him; but he also displays athletic moves to win one-on-one battles that make him a unique prospect to be looked at if he's sitting there in the second round. 

Watch this spin move Leal put on this Mississippi State offensive tackle. He forced his man to have consider protecting either his outside or inside shoulder with a stutter step, then finished the move with a quick spin to the B-gap for a clear path to the quarterback:

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That's another  nimble, athletic defensive lineman who adds to this athletic class.

If the Steelers want to both fix the run defense in 2022 and find longevity on the defensive line, this would be an impressive class to utilize towards those ends. Expect the Steelers to keep tabs on Jones instead of Wyatt for their first and/or second round picks. But a big trade up for Davis would not only shake up the Steelers' defensive line, but the outlook on the entire first round across the NFL.

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