The construction of the Steelers for 2024 and beyond will begin with next week's NFL Combine.
The four-day scouting event will be surrounded by days of media availabilities, beginning with an Omar Khan press conference with local reporters around 5:30 p.m. Monday in Indianapolis. Khan will meet with reporters again at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday before the event kicks off, and I will be there for both of those press conferences.
But, the main events will be on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium from Thursday through Sunday. Defensive linemen and linebackers are scheduled to perform drills on Thursday, defensive backs and tight ends will work out Friday, quarterbacks and running backs and wide receivers will go Saturday, and offensive linemen will take the field Sunday.
Between the 2024 NFL Draft and free agency, the Steelers have identifiable holes to fill up. Let's assess a handful positions of need:
1. Defensive back
This refers specifically to the cornerback position, where the Steelers can't afford to press forward with Levi Wallace, Patrick Peterson, and James Pierre as the next-best options opposite Joey Porter Jr. The Steelers were in the bottom-half of the league in passing defense and their 23 passing touchdowns allowed were tied for 12th-most in the NFL. The secondary was susceptible to allowing big plays last season, as well, as their 63 completions of 20 or more yards were the fourth-most in the NFL.
These issues in coverage can be remedied with the Steelers' 20th pick of the draft, where one of a handful of cornerbacks are likely to be on the board. Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell was one of the standouts of the Senior Bowl and had Mike Tomlin's attention on Day 2 of the three practice days in Mobile, Ala.
Mitchell caught most of the eyes among cornerbacks in Mobile, in fact. He has been a riser among many draft prognosticators' boards and could have played into the conversation to be the first cornerback taken in the draft.
That doesn't dry up the well, though. Six cornerbacks rank among the top 30 in CBS Sports' pre-draft rankings: Mitchell (No. 12 overall), Alabama's Terrion Arnold (17), Clemson's Nate Wiggins (21), Iowa's Cooper DeJean (22), Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry (23), and Missouri's Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (30). DeJean reportedly won't test in drills at the Combine as he continues to work back from a leg injury sustained late in the season.
If the Steelers told us one thing by drafting Porter last year, it's that they value physical cornerbacks with size. Porter measured at 6-foot-2, 193 pounds at last year's Combine. Wiggins has the height at 6-foot-2, but has a listed weight of 185 pounds. McKinstry checks in at 6-1, 195 and would more closely fit that prototype. The Mock Draft Database, which takes a consensus of numerous mock drafts on the internet, believes Wiggins will be the Steelers' pick at 20.
2. Offensive line
Tomlin was head-on with looking at offensive linemen in Mobile himself, and he sent assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams to help coach the position for the week. Those two moves are not a coincidence, as the Steelers need to upgrade their center and tackle spots to go alongside 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones and veteran guards Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels.
If there was an MVP for practice week at the Senior Bowl, Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson would have been a contender for it. He consistently won reps and was able to get to the second level in run-blocking situations, which showcased much of what he put on film in his All-American season of 2023. He led all Football Bowl Subdivision centers with a 91.3 pass-blocking grade, an 85.2 run-blocking grade, and an 84.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2023.
Also among the top of the class at center is West Virginia's Zach Frazier, who did not participate in pads in Mobile because of injury. Frazier began his career at West Virginia as a guard but transitioned to center, and he could make that transition back to guard for the right NFL team. He would be a more likely option for the Steelers at pick No. 51 overall in the second round, but Frazier could play into the first round with a strong showing in Indianapolis.
As for the tackle position, Tomlin and Williams kept close eyes on Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton in Mobile. Guyton is a natural right tackle, and he could prompt a move for Jones back over to his natural left side. Amarius Mims was Jones' running mate at Georgia and is certainly an option to fit that bill at pick 20, as well. Notre Dame's Joe Alt and Penn State's Olu Fashanu likely won't be available at pick 20, but the next handful of tackles -- including Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga, Alabama's J.C. Latham, and Washington's Troy Fautanu -- could all be options for the Steelers if they don't trade up.
3. Inside linebacker
Overall this is not a strong linebacker class with respect to other positions, but there are ones to be had. According to the Mock Draft Database, the only linebacker who has peaked in the first round within mocks is Clemson's Jeremiah Trotter Jr., and his positioning at maximum is within the late stages of that round.
The Steelers need a refresher at the position with Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb as the top two options. Both battled injuries last season, and Holcomb and free-agent-to-be Kwon Alexander each sustained knee injuries that cu their seasons short. Mark Robinson has not developed like the Steelers projected him to, even for a seventh-round pick, and an upgrade can be had in this class.
N.C. State's Payton Wilson possesses solid abilities in coverage and could be a Day 2 option for the Steelers. Michigan's Junior Colson and Ohio State's Tommy Eichenberg are also attractive options in the Day 2 and Day 3 ranges at the position
4. Interior defensive line
The Steelers struck gold in Keeanu Benton in last year's draft, and they could find his running mate early in this year's draft among a hefty crop of interior defensive linemen. This is a position of need for the Steelers with Cam Heyward set to enter his age-35 season, Larry Ogunjobi being a cap-casualty candidate, and DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk not developing on previously forecasted trajectories. The Steelers have not spent a first-round pick on a defensive tackle since Heyward in 2011, and up until Benton was taken in the second round last year, the Steelers hadn't used a pick within the top 75 on a defensive lineman since they took Stephon Tuitt in the second round in 2014.
Illinois defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton might be a tad undersized at 6-2 and 295 pounds, but his production in his All-American career at Illinois makes up for it. Newton posted 52 tackles, 8.5 for loss, 7.5 sacks, and nine quarterback hurries in 2023.
Texas' Byron Murphy and T'Vondre Sweat are also attractive options for the Steelers, though Sweat most likely works out as an option in the second round. Michigan's Kris Jenkins, Miami's Leonard Taylor, and Ohio State's Michael Hall Jr. are more likely in the late-Day 2 range, while Duke's DeWayne Carter and Baylor's Gabe Hall could be Day 3 options.
5. Quarterback
Given what Art Rooney II and Tomlin have said publicly regarding Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and the state of the Steelers' quarterbacks situation, it's difficult to envision a first-round pick being utilized on one. That would leave a handful of options off of the board, but there are still passers to be had in Day 2 or Day 3.
That leaves South Carolina's Spencer Rattler, Tulane's Michael Pratt, Florida State's Jordan Travis, and Tennessee's Joe Milton among options for the mid-to-late rounds. In all, 14 quarterbacks earned invites to the Combine, and unless one of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels slip down or the Steelers trade up, they likely won' be in play that late in the first round.
Rattler had a solid week in Mobile and was the most consistent that week among these options for the Steelers. Pratt posted 9,611 passing yards, 90 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions in four years at Tulane.
