With the 21st pick in the 2025 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select

True, he can make big plays... but its not consistent enough. He's caught 53 balls in 2 years. We need a lot more than a couple 3-4 big plays a year from someone other than GP.

 

Throw a Dart. Jaxson Dart

 

I actually have been a defender of Austin's, but I am also not delusional to think he's our #2 option for the future. He's a fine player as a 3rd/4th option in the offense that can make some big plays with his speed when the focus of the defense shifts elsewhere. He can bring a lot to the table, but when he is the #2 option on an offense, he's going to get stifled. He would thrive in an offense that is littered with threats, where he can get some room to operate and hit a big play.

We gotta get more weapons... it just has to happen. Austin will benefit from it, but more importantly, the offense as a whole will be better for it.

 

Getting more weapons is always a good thing, but I think the pain point is Tomlin's preference for safer, more vanilla schemes on both sides of the ball that fail to take advantage of the weapons he actually has. In this day and age it's hard to rely upon having a bevy of talent at any one time, whether that be from cap limitations or injury.

Basic schemes rely more upon the talent and execution of each individual player for success. We had DBs out there not knowing assignments in Week 16 while blitzing at the lowest rate we've had in over eight seasons. This allowed QBs to pick apart the secondary. Fitzpatrick is accounting for over $20M in cap to play a prevent version of free safety.

Time and again you hear postgames that mention execution, doing a better job, weighty downs, etc., and they're all part of the game. But so is putting yourself in the best position to attack the opposition with the talent you have.

 

Hard to argue with that. It makes having good players all the more important for us. If we aren't winning by out scheming them, we have to win by out playing them. Simply put, we just need to have better players.

 

I'm not disagreeing, just posing the thought that we also need better schemes. One can follow a rabbit hole down a long way trying to find answers for execution and 'we need to do better.'

 

This is where I am now.

I'll be happy with any one of these at #21:

K. Grant
D. Harmon
W. Nolan
J. Barron
N. Emmanwori
J. Simmons

Wouldn't be pissed(but not thrilled) at #21:

A. Jeanty
M. Starks
M. Golden
T. McMillan
L. Burden

That's 11 realistic picks that wouldn't send me out to the shed for some sharp tools.

 

I'm assuming position is why Jeanty and McMillan are in the second tier. No love for Egbuka?

 

Yes, because of position. Egbuka is just a 2nd rd WR to me. The others don't excite me terribly either, that's why they're in tier 2.

 

Im holding outhope for grantor Nolan/nolen

 

I'm not big on the WRs there, either. But if McMillan dropped I'd be interested. Otherwise I'm looking for Grant/Harmon/Barron.

Some mocks have had Will Johnson dropping lately, but I'd like to see them pick up a press corner opposite Porter, who struggled a bit in zone last year. Signing a Carlton Davis and adding Barron in the nickel would go a long way for the secondary.

 

I wouldn't mind C. Davis, I'd also like Byron Murphey. As far as Johnson, it seems like it's all building to his 40. If he runs sub 4.5 he'll be long gone. Slower and he could fall.

 

Johnson won't run at Michigan's pro day due to injury; he will hold a private workout in April.

 

The turf toe must still be affecting him.

 

Of those 2, I would prefer Nolen. There is a knock on him for arm length being less than 33". 32.5" in the middle of the DL is not a big enough deal to pass on him if there at 21.


Derrick Harmon is my favorite DL prospect for the Steelers.

 

Sticking with my trade down option.

 

Yeah, Murphy would be a fine option as well. He's been used at slot a good amount, too, so he's got some versatility. But that, on top of his 2024 and age (27) is going to add some helium to his price tag.

 

But not enough, not sure if it is him or the OC, I am leaning on the OC that does not know how to
put people in a position to succeed,

 

With the 2 CB's being signed in FAgency, not sure what plan Steelers have for other positions in draft. Slay could be
here for only a year. DL is still weak, I hope Steelers have something up their sleeve for the draft, Can't believe we are done
dealing but maybe so. Guess we will have to see how things shake out. I suspect a DL, RB, QB, OL in draft after that have no Idea
who these players maybe. Hoping for the best.

 

There are a few options

DT
Grant and Harmon are the only players I like here. Not high on Nolen and really think that the body type matters. Grant would be a great addition and Harmon is just a 1 for 1 replacement of Heyward whenever he retires

CB
There are a couple options I'd be happy with here. Barron, Johnson, Morrison.. Though I think the Slay signing probably kicks the can down the road a year before we try again at CB.

RB
So many high end options here. Jeanty, Henderson, Hampton, and Judkins are all worth pick 21 to me. Wouldn't be a bad idea to keep stockpiling weapons in preparation of our move at QB in the 2026 draft

QB
I don't know who the Steelers like. We could end up with Dart, Ewers, Howard, McCord.... with no second round pick, its highly likely that whoever they like (if they like anyone at all) will need to be taken here at 21. Can't imagine any of these guys still hanging around in the back end of round 3. Only pull the trigger here if we are 100% sold on someone. Otherwise, drafting a guy like Shough to develop into a long term backup might be fine enough and just go with what we have until the 2026 draft.

 

I agree. I know these things don't matter, but Nolens hype seems to have nosedived since riding high at the senior bowl. He was even starting to get some top 10 draft projections. Now, he's regularly there @21.

 

We really need to recoup that 2nd round pick back.

 

That would be tough to do I think they could maybe get an extra third round pick by trading down in the first round.

 

How about a trade down?