Steelers fifth-round pick (comp.): LB Jesse Luketa
The Pittsburgh Steelers have issues all of their team — defense included — and taking another edge defender who can also play off-ball linebacker is something that should not be discounted.
Joe Schobert hasn’t come close to living up to expectations Steelers fans had for him after being traded from the Jaguars during the 2021 preseason, while Devin Bush might be the biggest liability at the linebacker position in all of football right now.
Jesse Luketa is a former four-star recruit who has played a mix of both defensive end and off-ball linebacker during his time at Penn State. At 6’3” and 247 pounds, he’s not going to be quick and twitchy as a linebacker, but Pittsburgh’s biggest problem right now is stopping the run — something Luketa can do at a very high level.
For the Steelers, Luketa could throw his hat in the ring for a job as an early-down linebacker while providing depth as both an edge rusher and a blitzer from the ball off-ball position. This seems like great value at this point, and Luketa could help fill multiple needs on defense.