32nd Pick Red Hot for Steelers
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers moved up three spots to land their offensive tackle of the future in Broderick Jones, but they didn't give up either of their second-round picks in doing so.
Therefore, heading into Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Steelers are on the clock with the 32nd pick. And, wow, did very few people see this many options going to be available to them.
If the Steelers stick with the 32nd pick, they can still draft Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who many, including myself, had mocked to Pittsburgh at pick 17.
They can also go after players like Albama's Brian Branch, Miami's Tyrique Stevenson, Notre Dame's Michael Mayer or Florida's O'Cyrus Torrence. And that's all if they go with the expectations that have been put on them during this draft process.
They also have the option of moving back. Head coach Mike Tomlin has not hidden his excitement about the possibility of moving down from 32. He mentioned during his pre-draft press conference that having quarterbacks on the board will make things even more interesting, and heading into Day 2, Hendon Hooker and Will Levis are still waiting for their names to be called.
Having the 49th pick takes some of the pressure off the Steelers to land the perfect player at pick 32. If they feel they have more options than they'd like, they could view it as an opportunity to slide back - potentially regaining something near the 120th pick they gave up to move up to 14.
Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan were quick to work through their press conference after the Jones pick and return to the war room to mule through phone calls.
According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the phones are ringing off the hook in Pittsburgh as teams look to land Levis.
Anything is possible heading into Day 2 for the Steelers, and it might have more potential than they imagined now that they're on the clock.
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