While not the team’s strongest draft class by any means, the 2018 Steeler draft class has played a role in the recent success of the team.
The initial reactions for the Steelers 2018 draft class were ones of surprise and anger in the first followed by intrigue and speculation later on. Terrell Edmunds in the first was a surprise pick, to say the least, but the team followed it up by making some intriguing and safe bets later on. Looking back on the class now, most of these players have developed as expected and now seems like a proper time to reflect on the group and offer up analysis for the 2018 Steelers draft class.
How to grade a Steelers draft class
There are two ways to essentially grade a draft class. The first option, and the one used by most, is grading each player as an individual. A whole class can be saved by just a single player turning into an elite player. That said, when grading like this, the round a player was drafted has to be taken into consideration. A player taken late on day three has different expectations than someone taken in the first. A late-round pick is given a lot more leeway, and frankly, if they make the field, even in a specific role such as special teams, their grade could be higher than an early-round pick that starts more often.
The other way to grade is by looking at the class as a whole. This takes less of a focus on the value of a player and is purely focused on the talent that was acquired no matter the round drafted. Typically, an above-average class yields: one high-end starter (Pro Bowl or better), one average starter, and two top-notch depth options/special teams players. Obviously, this grade fluctuates based on how the players developed as a whole and care less about where they were taken. With all of that said, here are the updated grades of the Steelers 2018 draft class.
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.
The bad with the Steelers class
This class has its shares of positives, but there are quite a few negatives holding this group back. For starters, the worst pick of the draft proved to be the team’s final pick, Joshua Fraizer. While missing out on a seventh-round pick isn’t shocking, he was the only draft pick not to make the final roster or to contribute to any capacity. Expectations weren’t high, but he fell way below them.
Beyond him, Jaylen Samuels has also been a disappointment in his own right. While he has made the roster every year since getting drafted, his value for the team has waned in recent years. Hyped as a receiving threat, Samuels has proven to be a mediocre at best receiving back given that he has little athleticism and route-running ability. While he was only a fifth-round pick, running backs have notoriously been successful despite being late-round picks.
As well, the contributors of the class also haven’t been top-level players. Edmunds in particular had a pretty bad two seasons before becoming an above-average player last season. With his contract option declined, there is a real chance Edmunds leaves after this season. If he does, it makes his first-round selection even more questionable.
As for Okorafor and Washington, both are solid contributors that will likely be gone after this season. Washington is great at making combative catches, but his overall route running, and limited athleticism have made him a secondary option and not a true top threat. Okorafor was an average-below average starting tackle last year. While he could make that jump, it seems more likely that his play remains around the same and the Steelers look to replace him next season.
Steelers overall grades
Edmunds: C-
Washington: C
Rudolph: C-
Okorafor: C+
Allen: B-
Samuels: D+
Fraizer: F
Overall Grade: C-
Overall, this class comes in at below average. The cons outweigh the pros, but this class isn’t a disaster akin to some have been. In reference, I would put the 2008 draft class well below this class, and even the 2016 class would be slightly below this group. The main issue with this class is that this class lacks a top talent and even the starters haven’t been anything overly impressive. Despite this draft giving the team three starters, each of them are easily replaceable.
This draft grade can improve in a variety of ways. If Rudolph steps in next season and starts and can hold that spot for a few years, this grade will jump. As well, if either Okorafor or Edmunds step up, earn another contract, and continue to start, their grades would increase as well. While Washington has been the most consistent of all of these players, there doesn’t seem to be a way he is still with the team past 2021. The Steelers are notorious for drafting receivers and the room itself is already deep.
Don’t sleep on Allen either. While it seems unlikely that he becomes a true starting inside linebacker, if he takes this full offseason to transition to linebacker, he could carve out a niche role. His play last season wasn’t great but considering he had just changed positions it was expected that there would be a learning curve. A full offseason at linebacker could lead to his play being even better next year.
Overall, the 2018 draft class was a below-average group that only has a few paths to bettering that grade. That said, this class isn’t as bad as the infamous 2008 class and to me ranks just slightly ahead of the 2016 class (although they are close). While this class lacks a true bust (Fraizer can’t be seen as that due to his seventh-round status), it also lacks a truly great starter. At the end of the day, this class doesn’t stack up to some of the better recent classes, but it isn’t as bad as some make it out to be.