With the NFL Draft officially wrapped up, here are some superlatives for the Steelers next wave of impact players.
The Steelers added some much-needed talent in this previous draft. While some picks have a clear edge over the others, all of these players have some sort of potential that the team thinks it can harness. Though it is still extremely early in the process, here are five superlatives from the Steelers 2022 draft class.
Steelers most likely to bust
I struggled to put a seventh-round pick here, as the odds of any seventh-round pick working out is typically slim to none. That said, the Steelers were relatively safe early in the draft, and outside of their top pick, the bust potential in this group isn’t that high. Chris Oladokun earns this spot due to the uphill battle he currently faces on this quarterback roster.
Coming out of South Dakota State, Oladokun is a fun quarterback to watch. He played extremely well at a small school and has the arm and mobility to develop into a potential backup in the NFL. While landing a backup quarterback in the seventh round is a fine value, there is a very real chance that Oladokun never even sniffs the roster.
He is the fourth quarterback in a relatively set order. Unless Mason Rudolph is traded at some point, Oladokun won’t make this roster. Having a capable fourth quarterback is fine, but if they are destined to be cut sometime after camp and not stick it isn’t a good use of draft resources. Assuming Oladokun doesn’t make the roster, he easily has the biggest bust potential.
Steelers safest pick
While I am not overly high on the Steelers selection of Kenny Pickett in the first round, I couldn’t put him on the bust potential due to my disdain for the prospect. While I don’t see a high ceiling for Pickett, he has a pretty high floor overall. He was the safest quarterback prospect in this class, and thus he is easily the safest bet for the Steelers.
Pickett can progress through reads and has good touch on his passes. Add in his decent mobility and his play in a pro-style offense and Pickett will likely be the starter sooner than later. That said, his arm strength and pocket presence need some work. That said, he could start week one this season due to his level of pro readiness.
Though the ceiling is a top-10ish quarterback who needs a good team around him to succeed, his floor seems to be like a Teddy Bridgewater. I don’t see the bust potential most of the other quarterbacks had even if his ceiling isn’t that immense.
Pickett has the lowest bust potential out of anyone in this class even if his chances of becoming a top quarterback aren’t great.
Steelers worst fit
While one can’t argue against the value of the DeMarvin Leal selection, I’m not quite sure he has a natural place along the Steelers defensive line. While he was once seen as a lock to go in the first round, a lack of push as a run defender really tanked his draft stock. That said, he has a lot of positive traits to his game and was easily worth more than a third-round pick.
Leal’s calling card at the next level will be as a pass rusher. He has a great set of pass rush moves for an interior lineman and he can win in a variety of ways. On the other side of things, he was a liability as a run stopper as he constantly got pushed around this past season when opposing offenses ran the ball. Unless he gets those issues squared away, Leal won’t become a traditional starter with his current issues in the run game.
The other issue is his size, and long-term I believe this will genuinely keep him as a sub-package player only. He is on the shorter side for a defensive lineman, and he has shorter arms. Typically, the Steelers like their ends to be tall and long, so Leal doesn’t fit that mold. I think he can be a fin pass-rusher in nickel and dime defense, but his fit as a traditional starter is suspect, to say the least.
Steelers best fit
Calvin Austin was a relatively surprising pick in the fourth round as the Steelers didn’t show a lot of interest in him pre-draft. That said, this was likely a case of the team being surprised he fell, as most seemed to rank Austin as a day two pick. With a huge hole at slot receiver, Austin has an instant path to succeeding in this offense.
To be clear, Austin isn’t the typical Steelers receiver. He is built in the Tyreek Hill mold of player, where he is extremely small but has blazing speed and runs some sharp routes. The team is moving on from a bigger and more physical slot receiver in JuJu Smith-Schuster, and while Chase Claypool will likely get the first crack at the slot, Austin will be a great compliment.
The Steelers essentially got an offensive upgrade from Ray-Ray McCloud in Austin. He is a more dynamic receiver and gadget player and thus should be more effective in this offense. The team clearly wanted to get McCloud involved last year, so Austin could be in for some early work with the team. He is a little small, but his fit with what this offense wants to do is great.
Steelers potential star
Without a doubt in my mind, the best pick in this entire class has to be George Pickens. The only reason a player of his caliber is available that late in the second round is due to how deep this receiver class was. Had Pickens been healthy in his final year, he likely would have been in contention to be the first receiver off the board in this draft.
Pickens can do it all and played in a pro-style offense at Georgia to boot. He has the speed to win deep, runs smooth routes, and he has some of the best hands in all of college football. He has the makings of an elite player in time as his skill set and ability to line up almost anywhere are huge assets to an offense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him atop some rookie-of-the-year considerations when this is all said and done.
While long term there are those reported maturity issues, the Steelers have been able to clean some of that up in recent years. Just look at Chase Claypool, who started the year off acting up during games a bit before settling down by the season’s end. Pickens will have to learn that element of playing, but he looks like a good one on paper. Don’t be surprised to see him be the Steelers go-to guy by season’s end.
The Steelers had a strong draft overall with a lot of things to like about it as a whole. While these superlatives are based on college production and initial reactions, I feel relatively confident in the awards I handed out. Keep them in mind once the season rolls around as to who will be a top name or not.