Steelers draft: Predicting the best available players at pick 24

Jaelan Phillips, EDGE, Miami

If you haven’t yet taken the time to put on some Jaelan Phillips tape from this past season, you don’t know what you are missing. Phillips was an absolute beast at getting after the quarterback. His elite physical tools and ability to win with both speed and power have caused some to compare him to Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt.

If not for his injury history, Phillips would be a lock top-10 pick in this year’s draft – probably even higher. In fact, there are some analysts out there who believe that, as a prospect, Phillips is on the same level as players like Nick and Joey Bosa. That’s quite the praise from the former UCLA transfer. However, this isn’t hard to see when you watch him destroy offensive tackles game in and game out.

Unfortunately, injuries are a big concern as concussions caused him to briefly retire from football in 2019. With a few more big hits to the head, Phillips could end up having a very short NFL career. However, at some point in the draft, the reward outweighs the risk, and he could certainly be the most talented player on the board when the Steelers are picking at 24. It just depends on how big of a risk they are willing to take.