The 25 most likely Steelers defensive targets in 2022 draft

Steelers defensive prospect #14

An earlier defensive prospect on this list was a projection with some upside as a potential long-term defensive lineman depth piece. Neil Farrell is the opposite, as he is a prototypical nose tackle with little hope of being anything much more than a reserve or rotational piece. He is a stout run defender, but he lacks in just about every other aspect of his game.

Where Farrell makes his money is in the run game. He uses his thicker lower half to generate power up the middle and take up space. He is a throwback to the classic nose tackles of old, where he does very little stat-wise but can open up lanes for other defenders to make a play. Unfortunately, he doesn’t do much else, as he is extremely limited as a pass rusher.

Add in his athletic testing, which was one of the worst for a defensive lineman in the class, and you have a rotational two-down run stopper here. For the Steelers, adding a player like that late actually makes some sense. You can develop him into a situational starter to take on a role once Tyson Alualu retires. There are links between the two sides, but his limitations will keep him down as a later-round pick.