Steelers Get Straight A's in NFL Draft Grades: 'Time to Take Back the Division'
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely dominated the 2023 NFL Draft, and those watching and analyzing were nothing but impressed.
Following their seven picks, post-draft grades started to drop with nothing but praise for general manager Omar Khan's first draft and the Steelers' haul as a whole.
Pro Football Focuses started things off by giving the Steelers an 'A+' for their draft class, highlighting their impressive moves on Day 2.
"Pittsburgh takes PFF’s CB4 and 21st-ranked prospect to open up Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Porter wins with his length. The former Nittany Lion’s 34-inch arms make it easy to disrupt his opponent at the catch point and line of scrimmage. Porter’s 40% forced incompletion rate in 2022 led all Power Five cornerbacks," PFF writes.
"The Steelers take a top interior defender that can line up in the A and B gaps, with the Steelers able to move Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and Benton across the interior. Benton will help a Steelers run defense that struggled in 2022 up the middle, with a strong 10.5% run-stop win rate in 2022.
"The freaky Georgia tight end’s slide is over. Pittsburgh grabs the 6-foot-8, 272-pound Darnell Washington to continue their strong 2023 NFL Draft. He has a strong resume in the ground game, as his top-five finish among Power Five tight ends in run-blocking grade in 2022 proves, and is a mismatch weapon as a receiver."
Then, former GM Brian Baldinger tossed his opinion into the mix, giving the Steelers and even higher grade - and, some very high expectations for the upcoming season.
Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame didn't end the trend, also giving the Steelers an 'A,' and topping off an impressive report card for Pittsburgh 2023 draft.
"The Steelers might have had the best draft of any team. Pittsburgh found a left tackle in Jones, who could prove to be the best of his loaded class. In the second round, general manager Omar Khan took Porter Jr., a legacy in the Steel City with a ton of ability," Verderame writes. "He should start as a rookie opposite Patrick Peterson. Later on, the Steelers took Washington, a hulking tight end at 6'7'' who should provide second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett with a large red-zone target. Finally, Herbig was a productive linebacker at Wisconsin. Look for him to be good depth and a solid special teams contributor."
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