2018 Steelers draft grades: This group isn’t as bad as you think

The good with the Steelers class

This class is pretty tricky, as the Steelers didn’t land an elite talent anywhere, but has gotten quite a few good contributors out of it. For starters, the top pick of this class, Edmunds, has had an up and down career to this point. Seen as a reach by most, the team selected Edmunds with the hopes of sitting him behind Morgan Burnett and developing him as a strong safety. Injuries forced him on the field early and he ended up starting 15 games. The results weren’t great, but they were in line with the expectations based on his college game.

While he has been far from a star, Edmunds took a considerable step last season and considering how young he is there is hope that he can develop further. His grade gets slightly bumped due to the potential shown in 2020. Beyond him, James Washington and Chukwuma Okorafor are both capable starters, albeit far from elite players. Neither will earn top grades, but they along with Edmunds make up the majority of the starters to come out of this class.

Looking at day three, Marcus Allen has a chance to move up in a grade if he can stick around for another season at inside linebacker. The former safety made the conversion last season, and while it hasn’t always been the cleanest transition, he seems to be bulking up this offseason to better fit this new role. He would definitely qualify as a backup, and in the fifth round that is a fine value pick.

The wildcard of the group may just be Mason Rudolph. While the former third-round pick has plenty of faults, his recent contract extension with the Steelers makes him the favorite to start next year. As well, he showed serious improvement during his lone start last year against the Browns. Will he be the next franchise quarterback? Probably not, but the fact that the team was comfortable enough to extend him and potentially start him next year could easily improve this overall draft grade.