5 star players that the Steelers could have drafted in the past five years

2022 NFL draft: Steelers should have drafted Tyler Smith (Kenny Pickett)

You can't necessarily knock what the Steelers did in this draft, especially in round one. They waited till the 20th pick on night one and had the pick of the quarterbacks. It is impossible to replace a Hall of Famer, but they were able to get a local product right next door with Kenny Pickett. It was a popular selection according to Pitt fans, but there is a lot for him to prove.

It did make some question marks appear as the club had both Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph on the roster when the club took Pickett. It's easy to see why they took him and the quality quarterback room that they had last year. But overall, it would have made more sense in terms of team building to potentially bypass taking Pickett and maybe trying to get him later or waiting a year to take a quarterback.

It is a nice story, but so is winning championships. It is still too early to judge Pickett on his career trajectory up to this point. There is a lot of football left for him to play, but there were experienced veterans in the room before he was taken. Taking an offensive tackle that is young and moldable might have been the better option.

The Dallas Cowboys ended up taking Tyler Smith out of Tulsa in a shocking pick in the later portions of the first round. He is a young and moldable tackle that would have been an upgrade over both Dan Moore Jr. and Chuks Okorafor. Maybe taking Pickett will work out after all, but passing on a potential answer at left tackle could be a hard pill to swallow.