Players Worth Rd 1 Picks by Team

2026 NFL trade tiers: Players worth Round 1 picks by team - ESPN

I think this writer is being awfully generous.....

2026 NFL trade tiers: Players worth Round 1 picks by team

Pittsburgh Steelers
One first-round pick: DT Keeanu Benton, OT Troy Fautanu, C Zach Frazier, DT Derrick Harmon, Edge Nick Herbig, CB Joey Porter Jr. Having invested heavily along the line of scrimmage in the draft over the past few years, the Steelers are loaded with talented young linemen on both sides of the ball. Fautanu established himself as a very good right tackle in his first full season, and if he can hold up under the strain of a potential move to left tackle this year, he would be worth even more in a potential swap.

Porter's the one player off the line of scrimmage here, and I can see Steelers fans wanting more. He was essentially a first-round pick, having been selected with the 32nd pick in a year when the Dolphins forfeited their first-rounder. And Porter has been excellent over his first three seasons, notably while allowing a 57.2 passer rating in coverage last season. The Steelers don't seem close to a new deal with their top cornerback, though, and as a second-round pick, Porter is only one year away from unrestricted free agency. Teams might want to wait and see if they can land Porter for free on the open market in 12 months.

Missing out: WR DK Metcalf, Edge T.J. Watt. Metcalf was dealt for a second-round pick last season and then endured a frustrating first season with the Steelers, which would limit his trade market. Watt's a future Hall of Famer, but after a 19-sack season in 2023, he has 18.5 sacks over the past two seasons combined. As an extremely expensive player who turns 32 in October, Watt would only make sense for a handful of teams that see him as the last piece of a Super Bowl puzzle.

Remember that the Broncos only got second- and third-round picks for Von Miller when they dealt their legendary edge rusher to the Rams, and that was with Denver paying down the rest of Miller's salary in the process.

 

Given his production relative to contract, I would have thought that Highsmith would at least be on the missing out list.

A team trading for him now would get 2x years of prime age performance at a rate that's much below market (especially considering that we already paid the SB).

 

Good point. And I'd liked to meet the team that would give a 1st rounder for Benton. And Herbig is a huge stretch.

 

And do that deal immediately with no take backs. Kind of like the Claypool deal.

 

Benton first round? Somebody must not know the Steelers too wellI would move him for a third or fourth rounder.