Ranking all 7 Steelers 2024 draft picks from best to worst

By nearly every account, the Pittsburgh Steelers crushed the 2024 NFL Draft. When it was all said and done, they earned the highest cumulative draft grade of any team in the league... and it's not hard to see why.

New front office heads Omar Khan and Andy Weidl continued implementing the strategies we saw in their first draft as GM and assistant GM in 2023. They targeted important positions where the value lined up with the need. This helped them earn spectacular value against the consensus board with most of their selections.

Obviously, we still need to see how things are going to play out on the field, but I've taken the liberty of ranking all seven Steelers draft picks based on factors like draft value, talent, upside, and fit with the team. Here's each of Pittsburgh's selections from the 2024 draft ranked worst to best.

Steelers 2024 draft picks ranked worst to best:

7. Logan Lee, DL, Iowa

If there's one Steelers draft pick in 2024 I was not a big fan of, it's Logan Lee. The Iowa product is a quality athlete with height, but there isn't much about his game that impressed me. Though he measured in at 6'5 3/8'', Lee was just 281 pounds at the Combine with just 32 1/4'' arms.

Much Like DeMarvin Leal, Lee is stuck in between positions in a bad way; he's not Fast enough to play on the edge in the NFL, but he's not stout enough to hold up routinely as a run defender at the next level without adding significant mass to his frame. On top of this, Lee had poor college production -- earning just 5.5 tackles for a loss and 3.0 sacks in 14 games in 2023.

I have him slotted as the worst Steelers draft pick from 2024, and I hope he can do enough to change my mind.

6. Ryan Watts, DB, Texas

Like Lee, Ryan Watts was another player who wasn't really on my draft radar. Many experts viewed him as a seventh-round pick or priority free agent, so this wasn't a value selection. However, some traits about Watts have me really intrigued.

At 6'2 7/8'' and 208 pounds with 34 1/2'' arms, Watts is one of the biggest cornerbacks you will find in the NFL. But he can be a step slow at times (4.53 speed) and some believe he will need to make the transition to safety at the next level. Still, this is the type of prospect every team should be fine gambling on in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. With a strong draft class, he earns the spot as just the sixth-best draft choice by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.

5. Mason McCormick, OG, South Dakota State

The next five selections get quite a bit tougher to sort out. I really liked Mason McCormick, but the players ahead of him on this list were even better value against the consensus board. Regardless, McCormick is the prototype fourth-round pick that I look for each year.

At this stage in the draft, early on Day 3, you love to find small school players with elite physical traits who could develop into quality starters with the right coaching. McCormick is 6'4 1/4'' with long arms (33 7/8'') for a guard and the frame to put on more weight. He also tested as a tremendous athlete -- earning a Relative Athletic Score of 9.96, via RAS.football.

When you combine elite traits with impressive tape (albeit in a non-Power Five conference) you get a player who more than deserves to be drafted in Round 4. Still, with the value Pittsburgh found in 2024, he comes in just 5th in my Steelers draft pick rankings.

4. Zach Frazier, C, West Virginia

I wasn't as big of a Zach Frazier fan as most seemed to be entering the 2024 NFL Draft, and I was lower on the West Virginia Prospect than his placement on the consensus board. Frazier is a player I actively did not want Pittsburgh to take in the first round. However, I had no problem whatsoever getting behind the well-rounded center in Round 2.

Frazier doesn't have any elite traits. He's good at everything and great at nothing, but the lack of holes in his game could make him a long-time starting center in the NFL. When Pittsburgh was on the clock with the 51st overall pick in the second round, he was one of the best players available, and with a major need at center, this became an easy choice.

3. Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington

Troy Fautanu is the best overall player the Steelers drafted in 2024, but he comes in just third on my list. This is mostly due to the impactable value Omar Khan found with the final two players on this list.

Fautanu is a fiery competitor with lightning-fast feet and a nasty football demeanor. He's also a tremendous athlete who proved to be a brilliant pass protector for QB Michael Penix Jr. over the past two seasons at Washington.

Though Fautanu was an excellent value pick for most draft experts, he was right on value, which is where I would have had him going on my draft board. Still, I was a big fan of this selection thanks to the traits he offers at a premium position, such as offensive tackle. This was my third favorite overall pick.

2. Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan

Here's where the value (and excitement) really ramped up. With the first of their two third-round picks, the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled the trigger on Roman Wilson. This was my 45th overall player in the draft that Khan managed to land at pick 84.

Wilson is undersized for a wide receiver (5'10 3/4'', 185 pounds), but he comes at a premium position and a massive position of need for the Steelers. The former Michigan product was the number-one receiving option on the best team in the country, and he's as sure-handed as they come.

Though Wilson doesn't have WR1 potential, he has a remarkably high floor and should be a very solid wide receiver who could be a strong WR2 if all goes well. This is all you could ask for with a third-round pick.

1. Payton Wilson, LB, NC State

My top-ranked Steelers 2024 draft pick was an easy selection: Payton Wilson. The former NC State linebacker was arguably the best player at his position in all of college football in 2023 thanks to his outstanding production and unmatched instincts.

Wilson is also a fantastic athlete with size. At 6'3 7/8'', Wilson posted a 4.43 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine -- a number that matches his playing speed on film.

A scary injury history caused the NC State star to slip to the 98th overall pick, but this could be the steal of the draft if he can stay healthy. Wilson might have been a first-round pick if not for his age (24) and injury history. Regardless, you don't find value like this often.

All size and testing numbers courtesy of Mockdraftable.com.