Steelers Draft Grades: Omar Khan scores big in his first NFL Draft as GM

Steelers Draft Grades Round 4:

Round 4 – Edge Rusher – Nick Herbig – 6’-2”, 240 lbs.

The Steelers keep their brotherly love theme going by adding offensive guard, Nate Herbig’s little bro. Nick may be smallish for an OLB but he’s a slippery pass rusher with very good play speed. He has a developing bag of pass rushing tricks. He looks good in coverage, reading the QB’s eyes and breaking quickly on the ball.

To give you an idea of how disruptive he can be Herbig had 36 tackles for loss, 7 pass deflections, 4 forced fumbles, and 21 sacks in his three year career. He should be a lock as the team’s 3rd edge and situational pass rusher. He also could be a great special teams player. Herbig could benefit from a year in the Steelers strength and conditioning program.

Grade: B

Steelers Draft Grades Round 7:

Round 7 – Defensive Back – Cory Trice Jr. – 6’-3”, 206 lbs.

Trice is a big and versatile DB. He’s a dominating press corner when working on a short field. This might make him an early candidate for nickleback. He has problems playing in space but should have time to develop. He has safety experience. He’s smart with multiple Academic All-Big Ten honors.

He will be competing with Arthur Maulet, James Pierre, and Ahkello Witherspoon for the back of roster CB spots. He also might be used as a nickel/safety flex player like the Steelers have tried to do with Tre Norwood. His versatility and special teams value should help him make the roster.

Watching him on video he looks a lot like Joey Porter Jr. He’s even a ‘Jr.’ like Porter. They’re almost exactly the same size and play a very similar game. He ran a 4.47 forty, had a 35.5” vertical and 11’-0” broad jump at the Combine. Again, very similar numbers to Porter’s. Like Porter, he has the strength to reroute WRs on the outside. In 24 starts Trice had 106 tackles, 4.0 for a loss, and 5 interceptions including 2 pick sixes and 15 pass deflections.

Even with twelve fewer games Trice’s stats are comparable to Porter’s. Since he too, plays in the Big Ten it’s an apples to apples comparison. I’m not saying Trice will out perform Porter but it’s Interesting, isn’t it? A true safety would've been a better pick, here. Could it be Trice is bust insurance for Porter?

Trice was projected to go as high as the 4th Rd, so the Steelers got another steal. This is another player Patrick Peterson can help develop. If he does develop, Trice could be a dominating cover corner.

Grade: B+