Behind the Steel Curtain
It’s the annual greatest draft class of all-time
I love this year’s Pittsburgh Steelers draft class. I love it every year. The post-draft afterglow is the moment when players can only be judged on their potential potential and what they could ultimately accomplish in a best-case scenario. Although the average first-rounder will play in less than 63 games (less than four seasons), we’ll never hear Mel Kiper, Rich Eisen, or any draft analyst predict a player’s failure in the moments or days after their selection. So celebrate now, Steelers fans, but temper your expectations before the team gets to Latrobe.
I hope 2024 turns into the best Steelers draft class since the legendary one from 1974, but fans and analysts had similar predictions just a season ago. Almost every draft grade from 2023, except Mel Kiper (B+) was an A. Insiders and experts predicted Broderick Jones, Joey Porter Jr., Keanu Benton, Nate Herbig, Darnell Washington, and even Cory Trice would make their mark on the black and gold for a decade or more. It’s a prophecy that could still come to be.
Besides Porter, and to lesser extents Jones and Benton, we’re already beginning to see it come to fruition. But the others still have some potential unfulfilled. Even after one year, we’ve recently seen players like Kenny Pickett, Chase Claypool, and Devin Bush flash in moments, only to see their futures elsewhere. So draft grades are more like old war bonds: it may take seven years before they’re fully mature.
Despite some recent outliers, the Steelers have historically not been a team to rely on rookie contribution. For instance, before T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh didn’t have a Week 1 rookie starting at outside linebacker since Aaron Jones in 1988. Even the greatness of all-time icons like Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, and Cam Hayward was not exactly evident in their rookie seasons.
If we want to look at significant rookie contributions, we have to reconsider the 2021 draft. A vocal online opinion is that this was a poor class, laying the blame at the feet of former general manager Kevin Colbert. That’s revisionist history. Art Rooney foreshadowed the first-round selection of Najee Harris. He was a Pro Bowl alternate as a rookie. Today, he’s one of only 18 players to rush for 1,000 yards in their first three seasons. Pat Freiermuth was deemed “Baby Gronk” in his second-round selection. He earned two 60-catch seasons, before taking a step back last season due to injury. Many consider Dan Moore a liability at left tackle, but he’s started 49 games. Isn’t that an ideal scenario from any fourth-round pick? In 2021, rookies contributed more than 4,400 snaps on offense and defense. I want to see the 2024 class match that feat.
Let’s look back at the draft grades for the 2021 class. NFL.com gave Pittsburgh an A, specifically singling out Dan Moore. PFF called Kendrick Green “a very good pick.” CBS Sports seconded that opinion, saying Green would keep up the long-standing tradition...
