Grade the overall draft

They say you can't judge a draft until after three years. How do we feel about the 2023 draft?

• Round 1 (14th overall): Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia
• Round 2 (32nd overall): Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State
• Round 2 (49th overall): Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin
• Round 3 (93rd overall): Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
• Round 4 (132nd overall): Nick Herbig, OLB, Wisconsin
• Round 7 (241st overall): Cory Trice Jr., DB, Purdue
• Round 7 (251st overall): Spencer Anderson, OL, Maryland

 

Everybody knew this was a weak draft; NIL is killing the later rounds.

 

This should go really well.

2023 gets a B+.

 

I'd say a B or B-minus. Drafting a bust in the first round hurts the grade, but they got a stud cornerback and an impactful tight end in Washington. Herbig is a useful part-time player who could still develop into a starter. So is Anderson. Benton is a starter, but that's mostly by default at this point. To be fair to him, he is stuck playing out of position. That's not a bad draft.

 

If you can't offer an opinion with conviction, why are you even bothering to post? Is it because you don't like people criticizing the Steelers? It sure seems that way. Perhaps I'm being unfair, but it sure seems like the folks posting that we can't judge things yet are the ones who are upset about seeing the criticism of the Steelers' decisions.

 

I gave it a B, because honestly outside of Max, none of the players came as a surprise, except for Max and the 6th round DT. Every other player was linked to the Steelers at some point or another. Two best picks were Bernard in the 2nd and Dunker at the end of the third, and ultimately I'd rather have Max/Bernard than Lemon/Bell. And honestly, if you switched Wetjen in the 5th with Spears-Jenning in the 7th, no one would bat an eyelash.

 

Criticize all you want. Just don't be a loon about it.

No one knows that a player would definitely be on the board this and that many picks later. Or that this or that trade was definitely available.

Facts. Not feelings. These a wealth of information out there. I'm seeing very little of it posted here.

 

I never assume a trade was available, but we can see where players went now. We can see who was available when the Steelers made their selections.

Take their second pick in the third round as an example. I keep saying they should have taken Pregnon. Do I think Everette would have still been there for their compensatory pick at the end of the round? Yes. Am i going to assume that? No. That is why I keep pointing out that they could pivot to Scott if the guy they wanted was gone. Scott made it well into the fourth round. I also think he would have been a better option anyway, but what I'm pointing out is that the Steelers could have gotten the better guard and still added a solid player with the compensatory pick.

 

Which is why I wasn't directing my comments at you.

 

Yeah wish they took a safety earlier. Not crazy about the CB pick. Alot depends on the Qb, if hes a bust or backup it was a waste. If he becomes our starter down the line then it was a masterful pick. WR and OL were addressed - ill give it a B- for now

 

One thing we have to remember when evaluating this draft is how much the Steelers put into it. They stockpiled for this draft. They traded away Pickens for one of those third-round picks. They focused on getting compensatory picks. That is not worthwhile if they don't come away with a great haul, so a C-level result is not good.

 

I wasn't sure since you were quoting my post in response, but I do get what you are saying. Some of the criticism here is uninformed and over the top.

 

Like any other draft, wait until they put the pads on and get into a real game. Would've, should've, could've. Message board GM's, SMH!

 

D, below expectations. Got only two impact players out of 12 picks: Iheanachor and Everette. Iheanachor is top notch, and Everette is okay, needs some work.

 

C, Met Expectations. Got an excellent OT Jones, good CB Porter, good DT Benton, good CB Trice, 4 of 7 impact players. That's how I would grade it at the time. No points for Washington, Herbig, and Anderson, they are par for the course. Probably would be in the top 3-5 draft that year.

 

Sorry. I didn't mean to quote anyone's post with that one.

My phone and this site are in a street fihht.

I'm losing.

 

I don't mind taking the shot on Allar, though I don't think it will work. I assume McCarthy thinks he can develop him.

The cornerback pick bothers me. For all his physical tools, I don't think he is very good at the position. The kick returner pick was just terrible. That is a guy you take in the sixth or seventh round, not the fourth when there were still useful safeties and linebackers they could have taken.

 

I personally believe he would have been there at 53, but yes, the Steelers didn't want to lose out again. I wouldn't necessarily say it was the right thing to do. The Steelers have not done well at drafting WRs early. I am hoping this one works out well. That's not to say they shouldn't take WRs early. I am not against the Bernard pick. I think he is a better than Lemon. It all remains to be seen.

Here are WRs taken in the first 3 rounds since 2015. As of now, Wilson hasn't shown much. This is will be his make or break season.

Roman Wilson - 3
George Pickens - 2
Chase Claypool - 1
Diontae Johnson - 2
James Washington - 2
JuJu Smith-Schuster - 2
Sammie Coates - 3
Markus Wheaton - 3

 

I would have liked for them to have taken Corleone on the last day. Benton isn't a NT and Day is on his 10th season. Our two ILBs are struggling enough already. It is what it is. We will have to wait to see how it all pans out.

 

I thought the draft went close to how we thought it would. I made 3 mocks and, while not perfect, stayed close.


1st round OT. Who did not have the Steelers taking an OT here? Maybe you were thinking LT or a different prospect, but OT was very much expected. A

2nd round WR. When we need a WR we have taken a lot of swings in the 2nd. We needed a slot WR and we got the best one in this draft. A


In the 3rd round, OG, CB, and QB. What's funny here is in 2 of my mocks I took a QB in the 3rd. But in the one I took Allar, it was in the 4th. Still, we addressed needs and stuck to the script. A


We even had a slot WR/return specialist in our mocks. Most of us anyway. Maybe it was Branch instead of Wetjen being mocked, but I think it would have been Branch if the Falcons hadn't sniped him. So that pick was somewhat expected, even if earlier than most of us would have. B


5th, 6th, and 7th, I like the big box Safety pick. I did not see a RB being selected with the FA moves already made. The TE pick made sense to me with his versatility within the offense. A straight forward TE would not have made sense. And we knew we would take a DL at some point. B



The thing is, I didn't know these prospects as well as I would have in past drafts. But I knew the positions we would be drafting, and many of them knew about when in the draft we would go there. Same for many of your mocks. I think this draft went exactly according to plan.
Strong B/Soft A