Steelers news: Best UDFA fit, post-draft NFL power rankings, and more

This is the time of the football calendar year when NFL news really starts to slow down. As we continue to dive into game film from the Pittsburgh Steelers draft class and undrafted free agents, we can finally start to catch our breath from the busy rush of the offseason.

With rookie minicamp on the horizon, UDFAs will soon be working diligently in an effort to stand out to the coaching staff. The latest Steelers news includes a best undrafted free agent fit on Pittsburgh as well as updated NFL power rankings following the NFL Draft.

Steelers news:

Recently, Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic broke down every team's best undrafted free agent fit. For the Steelers, it wasn't fullback Monte Pottebaum or edge defender David Perales. Instead, Baumgardner went with Iowa State center, Trevor Downing.

Downing played both guard and center for the Cyclones, but at 6'3 3/8'' and 299 pounds, his small frame and unspectacular athletic traits will force him to be a center in the NFL. Baumgardner suggests that if Downing could get a little stronger, he could stick on the roster. This is possible, as the role for backup center is currently up for grabs following the departure of J.C. Hassenauer this offseason.

More Steelers news:

Nearly two weeks after the 2023 NFL Draft, Pro Football Focus has released their post-draft NFL power rankings. Amelia Probst and Arjun Menon of PFF have the Pittsburgh Steelers as just the 17th-best team in the league.

PFF points to Broderick Jones as the biggest impact addition from the draft. Remarkably, the Steelers actually dropped in the power rankings from their pre-draft positions (which was 16th overall). This is hard to fathom after the heists Pittsburgh was able to pull off at several points in the draft this year.

Just ahead of the Steelers in the NFL power rankings are the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Seattle Seahawks. Pittsburgh narrowly tops the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and New England Patriots on this list.

NFL news:

This week, Eric Edholm of NFL.com released his 2023 draft class power rankings. Despite some excellent early reviews of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 class, Edholm has Omar Khan's draft haul ranked just 7th behind teams like the Eagles, Texans, Colts, Seahawks, Cardinals, and Bills.

Edholm still really liked what Pittsburgh was able to pull off with their draft capital, but he didn't have them a tier above the rest like others have suggested. The Minnesota Vikings were the lowest team on the draft class power rankings -- turning their lone pick inside the top 100 selections into WR Jordan Addison.