Steelers Offensive Tackle Options in Each Round
The whole premise of this exercise will be to detail my favorite offensive tackle possibilities for each of the Pittsburgh Steelers' current draft picks. It's entirely possible that Omar Khan elects to be more flexible moving up or down the board than his predecessor, but this gives you an idea of what kind of prospect the Steelers could acquire in each round.
In order to keep this as realistic as possible, these names will be comprised between the consensus board and my own evaluations and rankings.
Round 1, Pick 17: Darnell Wright (Tennessee)
Like most teams, The Steelers have shown interest in Wright throughout the draft process and for that, I am grateful as he's currently my second-ranked tackle in the class behind Paris Johnson Jr., who most likely will be off the board by this point.
Wright is a physically imposing tackle who plays with a mean streak on every rep while also putting on pass-protecting clinics against elite competition, as evidenced by his 2022 performance against Alabama's Will Anderson. He has surprising recovery ability and tested better than most imagined at the NFL Combine.
Ideally, the Steelers would be able to acquire Wright in a trade-down scenario, but even at 17, he's got the potential to develop into a rock solid, starting right tackle fairly early in his career.
Round 2, Pick 32: Anton Harrison (Oklahoma)
If Pittsburgh was able to snag Harrison at this slot, I would have no complaints about the value associated with the selection. Harrison is an excellent mover with smooth footwork in his pass sets and, along with his movement skills, is also a fairly powerful human being who can do some damage as a run blocker near the line of scrimmage.
One of his best performances from 2022 came when matched up against Kansas State EDGE defender Felix Anudike-Uzomah, a potential top-50 selection, who he pretty much shut down throughout the game. It should also be noted that he's only 21 years old, signaling that he's still fairly early on the runway of his development.
With time and a quality offensive line coach to fine-tune his game, Harrison has legitimate top-10 left tackle upside in the future and would be a nice value at this point in the draft.
Round 2, Pick 49: Dawand Jones (Ohio State)
There have been very few, if any, prospects that the Steelers have spent more time on in this class than Dawand Jones. At 6-8, 375 pounds with a near 87-inch wingspan, Jones comes equipped with a build rivaled by very few in NFL history. That length shows up immediately on tape, allowing him to consistently make first significant contact with rushers early in the rep. He's also surprisingly nimble when asked to pull and get out in space, and when his targeting system lands on a smaller defensive back, it leads to pancakes as a result.
Jones length makes up for some of his lack of range and recovery ability, but it remains to be seen how that will translate to the next level. There have also been some reports where he has apparently turned some teams off amid weight concerns, but you can't teach 6-8 with that type of reach. Jones has quality right tackle upside provided everything else checks out.
Round 3, Pick 80: Wanya Morris (Oklahoma)
Morris is one guy that I can see the NFL liking more than the consensus, thanks to his combination of athleticism and length. Morris can really get out of his stance with ease and has good reactionary athleticism to recover and counter on inside moves from rushers off the edge. He also showcases the ability to mix up his technique, incorporating independent hand usage to keep guys at bay.
This is a guy that you want out in space to help build out your zone or perimeter run-blocking game while also having the ability to work and climb off of double teams. There is some added versatility here because he has played left tackle before finally settling in and growing as a right tackle later in his college career.
Like Harrison, the transition from RPO-heavy offense in college will be key but he's got starting caliber traits that offensive line coaches are after.
Round 4, Pick 120: Tyler Steen (Alabama)
On day three of the NFL Draft, you're looking for experience and versatility to match with NFL caliber traits. That perfectly describes Tyler Steen, as a thickly-built tackle who's a good athlete and mover in space, particularly in the run game.
He's registered over 3,000 snaps on offense in his career with experience at both tackle positions, but he has the build of an NFL guard and a position switch might be the optimal route to get the most out of his potential down the road. I thought that he had a really solid week down in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, where he looked like one of the better offensive linemen at the event.
He's a rock-solid player who should be able to immediately come in and be a quality backup at multiple positions before competing for a starting job in the future.
Round 7, Pick 241: Trevor Reid (Louisville)
Admittedly this is not the deepest tackle class or, frankly, draft class in general, so we are in full dart board throw territory at this point but Louisville's Trevor Reid is a really attractive option late this year. Reid's testing numbers were off the charts: 38-inch vertical leap, 10-4 broad jump and a 4.9 40-yard dash are all outstanding numbers and back up the athleticism that you see flash on tape.
Reid was invited to the Shrine Bowl and held his own against a group of athletic pass rushers at the event. He was often penalized both of the past two seasons, signaling a dire need to clean up some technical flaws but there's no risk at this point of the draft and the reward could be tremendous.
Round 7, Pick 251: John Ojukwu (Boise State)
Ojukwu is one of the most experienced players in this entire draft class, with 51 career starts to his name and has manned both tackle spots. He comes from a wrestling background and has some powerful hands to dictate reps at the line of scrimmage. I was able to find a couple of reps where he was deploying some snatch/trap techniques to counter edge rushers which displays some technical ability.
He tested like a good athlete and shows the mental processing to pick up blitzes and stunts, communicating well with his teammates. It would surprise anyone to see him also get reps at guard in a minicamp setting but with his experience, this is a fine pickup to add depth to an offensive line room.
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