Ranking the entire Steelers undrafted rookie class

1. Monte Pottebaum, FB, Iowa

In the modern era, fullbacks are few and far between, but the ones that last are versatile offensive weapons in addition to lead blockers. Monte Pottebaum is a throwback. He isn’t going to offer you much as a runner or receiver, but he can take on blocks and clear out lanes for running backs. It’s what he excelled at in school.

The issue is, a pure lead-blocking fullback is a dying breed of player, and I’m not sure Pottebaum is going to stick on the roster because of it. The Steelers seem inclined to use tight end Conner Heyward as a hybrid fullback in the modern mold, and he can also play elsewhere as well as serve as a special teams player.

That said if this team wants that traditional blocker, Pottebaum could make the roster outright. It really does depend on how this team wants to utilize the position moving forward. Derek Watt was used sparingly over his time with the team, and I feel like that will inhibit Pottebaum. He is easily the most accomplished player of the undrafted class though and could carve out a career as a lead blocker for a team that still utilizes that.

Despite what I thought was a really strong draft class, the Steelers undrafted pool of players was less exciting. I don’t see a lot here, and even the higher-rated players have a lot of asterisks attached to their names.