The 25 most likely Steelers defensive targets in 2022 draft

With the Steelers now fully focused on the upcoming draft, here is a look at the top 25 defensive options for the team to choose from this year.

With the draft getting ever closer, the Steelers are likely finalizing their draft board. While the draft is far from a science, Pittsburgh has a long track record of consistent things to look for when they select someone. Using the criteria the team normally cares about, I have compiled a 25-player board of defensive players that are realistic selections for the team in 2022.

What does this Steelers study look like?

The basics of this study are simple. Eight criteria were used which included: Senior Bowl and Combine visits, scouts/coaches at the pro day, pro day dinners, and actual team visits. That left me with an initial list of 49 defensive targets that met at least one of those criteria.

From there, likely first-round picks that neither Tomlin nor Colbert were present for at their pro day were taken off the list due to the track record of one of the two needing to be there for the Steelers to select someone in the first. While I hesitated with including names of players that many won’t expect to be there at pick 20, I left them on if they met the criteria as more than likely they would be easy selections if they fell to the team’s pick/

Finally, a player either had to have met three of the necessary criteria outlined above or had a “notable two” criteria reached. This would mean that the Steelers had a coach at their pro day along with something else, meaning there is a slightly better chance that the team targets them. With all of that said, here are the 25 likely defensive targets for the Steelers in the 2022 draft.