After months of waiting, the NFL Draft is finally here.
Who will the Steelers pick with the 17th selection? Here are my three predictions, with No. 1 being the most likely:
3. DARNELL WRIGHT
OT, Tennessee
Wright is an excellent prospect coming off a fantastic 2022 season. He has a ton of momentum right now in the draft community and very well could be off the board in the first 16 picks.
The only real issue with Wright to the Steelers is his ability to play right tackle. He played the left side two years ago with mixed results and claims to be willing to play either side at the next level. But, he was dominant on the right side in 2022. If you draft Wright, who is worth every bit of the 17th selection, do you plug him in as the starting right tackle hopefully for the next decade and move Chukwuma Okorafor to the left side? That isn’t the worst plan, as Okorafor has played left tackle before, but he was also very solid alongside James Daniels last year, making the right side of the Steelers line a dependable strength of the team. Or do you just leave the right side of the line alone, and ask Wright to relearn the left side while Dan Moore holds down the fort?
Obviously, the Steelers will have a better handle on this situation, and you must assume that this was discussed in much detail when Wright was in Pittsburgh on his visit. This is a very powerful player whose RAS (Relative Athletic Score) was third best amongst all offensive tackles in this class.
This is Wright basically eliminating Will Anderson, a great prospect that is very likely to be a top three pick overall:
2. JOEY PORTER JR.
CB, Penn State
This is the chalky pick. And it very well could occur.
Of course, the Steelers will have all the intel they could ever ask for on Porter, who I give about a 50/50 chance of still being on the board at 17. Washington might have a real tough time passing on Porter one slot ahead of Pittsburgh at 16. While Porter has rare arm length, overall size, physicality and enough straight-line speed, it is a red flag that he never ran the shuttle or 3-cone drill which gauge change of direction -- because Porter’s change of direction is questionable, as is his ability to play in reverse.
But, what Porter does well -- press his man at the line of scrimmage in a very challenging manner -- is exactly what the Steelers should be looking for at in their perimeter cornerbacks. Porter’s closest comparison from an athletic testing and size perspective is Sauce Gardner, last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Porter’s ball production is also worrisome, but he didn’t give up a touchdown last year and surrendered just nine catches on 26 targets for 70 yards in man coverage. Penn State’s opponents feared Porter and didn’t throw his way often when he manned up even their best wide receivers.
Oh, did you know his father played for the Steelers?
1. BRYAN BRESEE
DT, Clemson
As is the case with Wright and Porter, Bresee was in for a pre-draft visit with the Steelers. They will have all the information needed on all three of these prospects, but I am betting that Bresee is the one who hears his name called Thursday.
There is never an abundance of offensive tackles, but oddly enough, there is much more of a defensive tackle shortage this year than there is at cornerback. While I very much believe that the Steelers will take a cornerback with one of their first three selections, Bresee gets the nod over Porter and Wright here, mostly because of what is available in the rest of this draft on the interior defensive line and just how thin that position is this year.
Also, it could be argued that in today’s NFL that is seeing much less blitzing and much less in the way of stacked boxes, defensive tackle might just be the second most valuable position in football right now. His game is extremely similar in nature to Cam Heyward’s, and who would be a better mentor for Bresee? The rookie also wouldn’t be forced to play a huge number of snaps with Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and others in the mix.
Bresee dealt with a bevy of injuries and immense personnel issues, which could explain pad level problems at times early in the 2022 season due to fatigue issues. While last season was up and down for Bresee, he was the top recruit in the country coming out of high school and was the best player on an excellent Clemson defense as a true freshman. He also was excellent in the ACC Championship Game and finished his final season very strong overall.
Bresee is considered a very high character person who also has great athletic testing numbers, including a sub-5.0 40-yard dash. He’s an ideal Steeler and, who knows, maybe they could still land Bresee after trading down a few spots.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Brian Branch, DB, Alabama
Here's a few other general NFL predictions:
• Bryce Young is going first overall to the Panthers. That isn’t going out on a limb, folks, it is basically a done deal. But, I also predict that C.J. Stroud will not be the second quarterback off the board.
• There will be four quarterbacks gone when the Steelers get on the clock with the 17th pick.
• There will be only two running backs selected in the first round this year. That has become the norm, but Bijan Robinson is going to buck the trend and get drafted in the top 10 overall. Robinson rivals Jalen Carter as the best prospect in this entire draft, regardless of position value, and is as good of a running back prospect as I have ever evaluated. Watch this video and then try arguing with me on that matter:
• Excluding Nolan Smith, who is more of an edge defender than true linebacker, there will not be a second level defender selected in the first round.
• The Steelers will not make a pick at 17 and 32. There will be some sort of trade at one of those spots, at least.
Enjoy the draft, everyone! I sure will.