The Pittsburgh Steelers can’t afford to miss on their first-round pick. As of now, here are the three safest selections they could make in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Reaching for the stars isn’t always the way to go in the NFL Draft — especially if your team currently has a talent deficiency like the Pittsburgh Steelers. In one year’s time, Pittsburgh lost roughly one-fourth of its starters as players like Bud Dupree, Alejandro Villanueva, Matt Feiler, Mike Hilton, David DeCastro, and Maurkice Pouncey left the team either via free agency or retirement.
For most teams, it’s hard to handle this much turnover all at once, and the Steelers were no exception. In addition to attempting to make up for some of these big losses with ample spending money in free agency this year, Pittsburgh will also look to do so in the 2022 NFL Draft.
While these typically aren’t the type of players fans get excited about in April, these three prospects might just be the safest selections the Steelers could possibly make with the 20th overall pick this April:
Steelers safest possible selections:
OG/T Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
Despite being one of the youngest players set to enter the 2022 NFL Draft, I would argue that Kenyon Green is one of the safest picks that any team could make. Green (no relation to Kendrick) is a talented, versatile offensive lineman who has lined up at every position along Texas A&M’s offensive line over the past three seasons.
Green is athletic enough with a quality frame to play tackle at the next level, but once he settled in at guard, his film was elite. Green has tree trunks for legs and while he may not be a mauler as a run blocker, he’s an exceptional pass protector with outstanding foot-quickness and mirroring ability.
It’s no secret that the Steelers could use help all along their offensive line, and Green could be a plug-and-play starter for whichever position they need him. At 20 years old, the former five-star recruit is perhaps the safest overall pick Pittsburgh could make this April — assuming he’s still on the board at this point.