4 winners and 3 losers from Steelers 2021 NFL draft results

Loser: BPA Strategy:

Let’s just get this fact out in the open first: the Steelers don’t follow a pure “best player available strategy” as they claim to. No matter how the board falls each year, their early-round picks are always made to address needs, and one could easily argue that the team goes best player at a perceived position of need. This isn’t a slam on the strategy either, as filling needs is a must in a draft.

That said, the Steelers really seemed to throw this idea out the window this draft. While their early-round picks were dedicated to fixing the run game, most weren’t the best players available. Harris was the best running back prospect in the draft, but the value of selecting a running back in the first is already questionable. Freiermuth was the second-best tight end prospect, but his value was not as good as someone like Creed Humphrey who was arguably the best center prospect.

Don’t get me started on Isaiahh Loudermilk. The Wisconsin defensive end tested horribly and had mediocre stats in college and the Steelers traded a future fourth rounder for him. Again, this draft strategy of taking the best player available at a position of need isn’t a bad one, but this team doesn’t go purely “BPA”. This draft should pretty comfortably put to rest the notion that this team is a BPA team.