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Steelers Draft Grades: Pittsburgh Aces Day 3

The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2024 NFL Draft just as strong as they started it.

Noah Strackbein

Texas Longhorns defensive back Ryan Watts (6) warms up before competing against TCU Horned Frogs of
Texas Longhorns defensive back Ryan Watts (6) warms up before competing against TCU Horned Frogs of / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman
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Going into day three of the NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers still had needs along the secondary at safety, slot cornerback and in the trenches at defensive line.

They definitely still have these issues because of how the board fell, but the Steelers did not force the issue at those positions and instead elected to wait, while capitalizing on the better player at a less pressing position in terms of need.

Just what did analysts and myself think of this day three haul and did it put the finishing touch on a strong draft class:

Mason McCormick, G, South Dakota State

Dane Brugler: OG 8

“A four-year starter at South Dakota State, McCormick was entrenched at left guard in former offensive coordinator Zach Lujan’s balan ced gap/zone scheme (also the backup center on the depth chart). After receiving mostly free-agent grades from NFL scouts, he returned for his sixth season in 2023 and turned himself into a draftable player, as he led the Jackrabbits to the second of back-to-back FCS championships. In pass protection, McCormick needs to improve his hand placement and reaction skills, but he plays with quick feet and is advanced mentally to recognize blocking pressures. Despite his body stiffness showing up out in space, he has a tractor beam to defenders as a puller and looks like a fullback with the impolite way he looks to embarrass and bury opponents. Overall, McCormick doesn’t consistently play up to his testing numbers, but he has good eyes and feet in pass protection and outstanding physicality in the run game. He projects as a Day 1 backup (at all three interior line positions) who can become a starter with more coaching.”

Lance Zierlein: OG 20

“Three-year team captain who brings an incredible amount of starting experience and toughness to the table. McCormick plays with tightness in both his upper and lower half that shows itself when he's forced to make athletic plays. He can be forceful into first contact but doesn't display the flexion needed to redirect his weight quickly or play with leverage at the point of attack. His clear-eyed pass protection will attract offensive line coaches and his NFL Scouting Combine testing should have coaches believing there is still much more to bring out of him as a player.”

My Analysis: 59th overall, OG 4

It is safe to assume that I am much higher on Mason McCormick compared to most major analysts and that definitely requires quite a bit of an explanation. 

McCormick proves to be an excellent mover out in space with his notable fluidity and explosive capabilities to shoot out of his stance, which makes him one of the stronger scheme-diverse prospects along the offensive line. His nasty demeanor to finish at the second level really proves to be an asset in regards to his ability to pull on gap/power schemes as a lead blocker and get out in space on screens.

Something that is super apparent with his game is how strong his grip strength is; when he grabs hold he is not letting go, which sometimes leads to penalties, but his shock on contact is such a key part of his game. One of the biggest selling points of McCormick’s game was the fact he did the protection and communication calls upfront. He also played all the positions during Shrine game week and dominated there.

McCormick needs to clean up his pad level, which exposes his chest a bit too often, but the independent hand usage really helps with his overall pass-protection game. I am bullish on his upside and he really reminds me a ton of Richie Incognito. I think the Steelers got a steal at this point of the draft and could be similar in value to the Kevin Dotson pick back in 2020.

Logan Lee, DT, Iowa

Dane Brugler: DT 26

“A three-year starter at Iowa, Lee played defensive tackle in defensive coordinator Phil Parker’s even-man front, lining up primarily over the B-gap. He was a model of consistency for the Hawkeyes, starting every game since his sophomore season and posting consistent production each year. Quicker than he is explosive, Lee is an active player with aggressive hands and a nose for the football. What he lacks in creativity, he makes up for with his assignment-sound approach, but he lacks the desired power twitch for interior work and might not have the range or ability at the point of attack for outside or five-technique versatility. Overall, Lee is a good-looking athlete with a worker-bee attitude, although his frame and skill set might find him caught in between positions at the next level, limiting his NFL ceiling. He projects best as a reserve base end or three-technique in a four-man line.”

Lance Zierlein: DT 28

“Durable three-year starter as an undersized defensive tackle in the aggressive Iowa front. Lee has the size and length of a 5-technique but might not possess enough twitch and power to control blockers from that spot. He has good strength but needs time to ramp it up and doesn't have as many quick wins as teams will want. Lee's pass rush is very pedestrian but could improve some with better hand work and training. He's a hard worker but fails to stand out with power, quickness or pass-rush talent, which puts a firm cap on his upside.”

My Analysis: 6th round grade

Logan Lee is an interesting pick at this juncture considering he is more of your classic pure 3 technique that attacks on passing downs with quickness and explosion off the snap. He can get engulfed by contact most of the time and his tall stature works against him when it comes to pad level. The lack of overall sand in his pants is reminiscent of a tight end (which he was recruited as in high school) and with him not exactly being a spring chicken (24 years old), it is hard to imagine too much growth in that department.

Would have probably gone with someone like Fabien Lovett from Florida State, who fits more of the Steelers scheme and could provide potential nose flexibility. At the very least, the Lee pick sends a very clear message that the Steelers want more from former third-round pick DeMarvin Leal. Hard to complain too much at this end of the draft, but definitely see a different path they could have gone down here.

Ryan Watts, DB, Texas

Dane Brugler: Safety 20

“A two-year starter at Texas, Watts was an outside cornerback in defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s 4-3 base scheme and quarters-based coverage. After two seasons as an Ohio State reserve, he earned a starting role the past two seasons for the Longhorns but returned mixed results. Though he has the length to match up with size in press, he gets leggy in his transitions and struggles to stay connected on the outside (73.5 percent of his targets in 2023 resulted in a completion). His athletic twitch on the field doesn’t match what's suggested in his testing numbers. When his eyes stay on time, however, he flashes burst and strong tackling skills on plays in front of him. Overall, Watts has elite size and an outstanding athletic profile, but undisciplined tendencies in his coverage likely will push him to safety in the NFL (he saw safety reps during East-West Shrine Bowl practices). His special-teams potential could help keep him on an NFL roster during his likely position change.”

Lance Zierlein: CB 32

“Based purely on the cornerback tape, it would be easy to dismiss Watts as an NFL prospect, but once we fit the pieces together and project him as a safety, it changes the evaluation. Watts simply doesn’t have the quickness and agility to stay at cornerback with much success in man coverage. However, he’s already built like a safety and possesses tremendous length with a willingness to lean into the aggression for the position change. Watts' measurables and demeanor will work in his favor, but his impressive NFL Scouting Combine testing should create additional push for his draft stock and chances of becoming a backup safety with core special teams value.”

My Analysis: Did not watch pre draft, ranking undetermined

Ryan Watts on the surface provides some very interesting measurables to work with, especially considering his Joey Porter Jr.-like arm length.

On the surface this would seem like a strong candidate to be a potential steal at cornerback when looking straight at his testing numbers. Closer film inspection shows a corner who was mostly operating from shuffle stance technique in zone coverage and whenever he was in man to man coverage, he seemed to struggle overall with mirroring receivers’ movements, which led to him opening the gate prematurely.

Watts provides an interesting projection towards the safety position where his more reckless play style and zone expertise can fit into a more defined safety role. You could potentially ask him to match with tight ends at times with his size, but may not be the ideal tight end eraser as he may seem at surface level glance. Similar to former Steelers safety Sean Davis, there are definitely a lot of questions to his overall projection of where this height, weight, speed player will fit at the next level.  At the very least, much of that skill set should translate strongly to special teams.

Overall draft grade: A-

There are very few complaints if any to have with this draft and this served to be an excellent encore to Omar Khan and Andy Weidl’s first draft together. The Steelers fully addressed their offensive line issues with strong valued talent and the cherry on top proved to be their fourth pick, who sets up a potential long term succession plan at the offensive guard position.

Defensively, the board did not play in the Steelers' favor when it came to addressing the potential slot cornerback issue, but the addition of Payton Wilson gives them a dynamic Swiss army knife to deploy in certain packages, with his versatility proving to be his calling card. Roman Wilson may not be the number two receiver the Steelers need to replace Diontae Johnson, but he should prove to be a solid scheme fit in the slot and provide solid utility.

Coming away with potentially three long-term starters and a solid role player is about as ideal of a draft haul as you could ask for. Khan, Weidl, and Mike Tomlin are proving to be hugely deserving of our trust for the foreseeable future, so long as those three continue to stay together. It is one thing to have a strong draft, but following that up with an almost equally impressive draft shows a real repeatable process that deserves to not only be commended, but to trust going forward.

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Noah Strackbein

NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.