weapons in the A.J. Brown mold. However, the Steelers’ pre-draft visits have shown the team has an interest in a wide variety of play styles. There are some who fit the description, like Texas’ Adonai Mitchell and South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, but there’s also some of smaller, shifty types like Florida’s Ricky Pearsall and USC’s Tahj Washington, as well as a stocky slot weapon in WKU’s Malachi Corley.
Furthermore, the Steelers’ aforementioned free agent wideout pickups in Jefferson and Watkins show that the team isn’t as attached to the idea of “Arthur Smith wide receivers” as many believe. Expect Pittsburgh to focus more on talent than scheme fit at wide receiver in the upcoming draft.
4. Linebacker could be a sneaky draft need
We’ve already established the big four draft needs: offensive line, cornerback, wide receiver, and defensive line. More accurately, it’s five if you separate offensive tackle and center. However, with seven total picks in the upcoming draft, the Steelers could be drafting another position, even if they double-dip at wide receiver or corner.
If that’s the case, expect that sixth position to be linebacker. Despite the big-name free agent signing of Patrick Queen, the Steelers still have some question marks at linebacker, and their only two draft visits that weren’t linemen, receivers, or corners were spent at at the position, with Michigan’s Junior Colson and NC State’s Payton Wilson meeting with the team. Even more surprising? Neither player is a projected late-round pick, meaning the Steelers could potentially address inside linebacker sometime on Day 2 or early Day 3.
5. The Steelers’ top priority is improving at offensive tackle
Pittsburgh has shown some pre-draft interest in projected first-rounders at defensive line, cornerback, wide receiver, and even center. But the vast majority of their visits with early-round prospects have been spent at offensive tackle: Taliese Fuaga, Troy Fautanu, Tyler Guyton, Blake Fisher, and Amarius Mims. Pittsburgh has shown some interest in just about every tackle who could be available at pick No. 20. While the Steelers could go a number of directions with their first round pick depending on how the board falls, it seems clear that the team’s top priority is at offensive tackle.
Another observation? All the prospects mentioned above project best at right tackle in the NFL (perhaps with the exception of Fautanu), as do the majority of the late-round tackle prospects the Steelers have scouted. While part of it is due to left tackles generally being selected higher than Pittsburgh’s draft range, it does seem to indicate that the Steelers plan on moving Broderick Jones back to left tackle in the 2024 season.
