Steelers’ needs align with top talents in draft

Can Kahn hit another jackpot with his picks?

Earlyreturns suggest Steelers general manager Omar Khan knocked his first draft out of the park when he landed three players in the first two rounds who developed into starters as rookies, plus two more in the third and fourth rounds who were valuablecontributors.

The rookie class of Broderick Jones, Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, Darnell Washington and Nick Herbig could be the Steelers’ best draft class since 2017, one of Kevin Colbert’s best drafts that netted T.J. Watt and JuJu Smith-Schuster with their top twopicks.

The first big event of the 2024 draft begins this week in Mobile, Ala., where Khan and his scouts will look to build upon their success when they evaluate this year’s crop of playersat the Senior Bowl.

This year’s draft will give Khananother golden opportunity to bolster his roster. This draft meshes perfectly with many of the Steelers’ top needs.

They enter the offseason with major needs on the offensive line, defensive line, secondary and receiver. And it just so happens most of those positions are stocked with qualityprospects.

Here is an early look at the strongest and deepest positionsin the 2024 draft:

1. Quarterback

QBs have the highest bust rate because it’s such a difficult position to scout, but this is shaping up as a very good rookie class. Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson went with picks Nos. 1, 2 and 4 in the first round last year, and something similar could happen thisyear with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels. The difference is in the quality of depth after the top three. Unlike last season, when only two more quarterbacks went in the second and third rounds, this draft could have a few more QBs selected in the middle or later in the first round and the second round. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix andMichigan’s J.J. McCarthy are in the second tier of quarterbacks and might be available to the Steelers in the first or second round. Penix and Nix will play in the Senior Bowl, as will Spencer Rattler, a once highly touted high school recruit who finished out his career at South Carolina. While it’s unlikely the Steelers will use a first-round pick on a quarterback two years after they drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round, taking one in subsequent rounds is possible. When assistant general managerAndy Weidl was running Philadelphia’s draft in 2020, the Eagles took Jalen Hurts in the second round (pick No. 53 overall). That was only a few months after their starter, Carson Wentz, threw 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions in the 2019 season. Just some food for thought as the draft process getsrolling.

2. Offensive tackle

There is a consensus among draft analysts that this is a special year for tackles. In his first mock draft that was published last week, Mel KiperJr. of ESPN had eight offensive tackles going in the first round. Daniel Jeremiah ofthe NFL Network has seven going in his first mock draft, while Fox draft analyst Rob Rang also has seven tackles among his top 32 prospects in his initial top 50 big board. While not an immediate need, if there is a tackle who is their highest-graded player when they pick, it would not be a surprise if the Steelers took a tackle in back-to-back years. The Steelers could draft another one to pair with Broderick Jones, the No. 14 overall pick last year, for the long term. Dan Moore Jr., the starting left tackle for the past three seasons, is entering the final year of his contract. And remember, Weidl wants to build a tough and physical team that dominates in the trenches. Several of the top tackle prospects will be at the Senior Bowl, including Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga, Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton, Arizona’sJordan Morgan and Washington’s Troy Fautanu, although Fautanu is going to play guard and tackle at Senior Bowl practices because NFL scouts would like to see himwork inside.

3. Receiver

After offensive linemen, receivers are expected to be the next most coveted players in thefirst round this year. Kiper has six receivers going in the first round, and Rang has eight ranked in his top 50. Expect the Steelers to invest an early pick in a receiver. They likely will release No. 3 receiver Allen Robinson II to save $10 million on their 2024 cap. Plus, Diontae Johnson is entering the final year of his contract. The Steelers could add two receivers this offseason — one in free agency and another in the draft. Many of the top receivers in this draft are underclassmen, including potential top-10 selections Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU’s Malik Nabers, but Michigan’s Roman Wilson and Georgia’s Ladd McConkey will be in Mobile this week. They’re projected asDay 2 picks.

4. Cornerbacks

The Steelers added Joey PorterJr. with the No. 32 overall pick last year and they could take advantage of another deep pool of corners in thisyear’s draft. Jeremiah has six going in the first round of his mock draft, and Kiper has five. Even if the Steelers wanted to wait until the second round again, they could probably land a starter. Corner might actually be the most pressing need for the Steelers at the moment. Levi Wallaceis a free agent, and the Steelers need to make a decision on Patrick Peterson, who is set to count nearly $10 million against the 2024 salary cap.Like receiver, it’s possible the Steelers sign a corner in free agency and draft one. Some of the top corners at the Senior Bowl are: Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell, Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and PennState’s Kalen King.

5. Interior offensive line

Centers and guards are grouped together in the draft because many of them have theflexibility to play either positionin the NFL. Mason Cole, the Steelers’ starting center the past two seasons, is entering the final year of his contract, so Khan and Weidl will be paying close attention to the centers this week. A few of the top ones in the draft accepted Senior Bowl invitations, including Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and Georgia’s Sedrick van Pran. West Virginia’s Zach Frazier also accepted an invite, but he’s injured and will not play inthe game.

The only position of need for the Steelers that doesn’t have an abundance of top prospects is defensive line, which might be their biggest need given the age of Cam Heyward and the mediocre play of the rest of the unit. Kiper only has one defensive tackle going in the first round of his mock — Jer’Zahn Newtonof Illinois.

Jeremiah has two with Texas’ Byron Murphy going No. 11. Murphy and his teammate, T’Vondre Sweat, are two of the best defensive tackle prospects at the Senior Bowl