I can guarantee you that Mike Tomlin and the Steelers coaching staff haven't spent a second thinking about the 2025 NFL Draft. Right now, the focus is solely on beating the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, and with the way the regular season ended, how could it be anything else?
But while Super Bowl aspirations hang by a thread, we know Pittsburgh's front office is busy strategizing and coming up with the best solutions to improve the 2025 roster. Building through the NFL Draft has always been a staple to this successful franchise and that won't change this year.
Recently, Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department came together to conduct a detailed 2025 first-round mock draft. With the projected 22nd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, B/R had the Steelers going with Boise State running back, Ashton Jeanty.
Jeanty was one of the most well-known figures in college football during the 2024 season thanks to his utter dominance and unmatched production as a rusher. The four-star recruit fished his junior season for the Broncos with an eye-popping 2,601 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns.
Jeanty's unbelievable season came up just 27 rushing yards short of Barry Sanders' all-time record set at Oklahoma State in 1988. The Boise State product had unbelievable college production and excellent NFL traits, but this decision for the Steelers to draft him would divide the fanbase.
Steelers fans would split over taking a running back in Round 1
Regardless of the prospect, many fans would argue that running backs aren't worth taking in the first round. In order for an RB to be successful, a team must have a quality offensive line and a good offensive scheme in place. They rely on everything to go right and most running backs only get what's blocked for them.
The last time the Steelers took a running back in the first round, it ended up being a thoroughly underwhelming selection. Though Najee Harris had four straight 1,000-yard seasons in Pittsburgh, his efficiency was never higher than average among NFL running backs and his role could have easily been replaced.
Jeanty is unquestionably better than Najee as a prospect and deserves to be talked about as such. However, from a team-building standpoint, many fans will have a hard time getting behind this selection.
It also doesn't help that Jeanty has 750 carries in three seasons of college football — 374 of which came during this 2024 season. This could leave some to question whether he will break down faster in the NFL.
We saw how quickly Le'Veon Bell's NFL career went downhill. Bell led all college running backs with 382 carries as a junior before becoming the workhorse back in Pittsburgh. The All-Pro running back never saw an efficient season in the NFL after the age of 25 and his career was officially over at 29 years old.
The counterargument Steelers fans will have for Jeanty is easy: Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren are unrestricted free agents and Pittsburgh couldn't run the ball efficiently in 2024. Moreover, Pittsburgh isn't in the same spot they were in when they drafted Najee, as they now have the foundation of their offensive line set and a more competent offensive coordinator than Matt Canada.
Ashton Jeanty is a phenomenal prospect that every Steelers fan would learn to love, but the idea of taking a running back in the first round when this team has pressing needs at wide receiver, cornerback, defensive line, and quarterback could cause controversy among the fanbase.