Pittsburgh Steelers Likely Have Two Names on Top of Their NFL Draft Board
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers always have a few different boxes on their NFL Draft checklist, and their rich history only allows them to make those qualifications even more important in their ratings.
The Steelers will take advantage of the relationship when it comes to the NFL Draft, and for the most part, it works. That’s how they found their current quarterback and what their tight second string looks like.
The team has built a slate of relationships, going all the way to 2022 with three sets of brothers at different points in the season.
The NFL has also started doing the same. With the connections of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, and Tua Tagovaolia and Jaylen Waddle, the league forms offenses based on familiarity with the quarterback. And no one knows his QB as the best college receiver.
Which brings us to the 2023 NFL Draft. The Steelers hold the 17th overall pick, and along with it, a few names have been floated as ideas.
Most analysts believe Pittsburgh will target a cornerback or offensive lineman, but the occasional different position is added from time to time.
Most likely, though, there are two names at the top of the Steelers’ early scorecards. And just as it was predictable that the team was pursuing Najee Harris two years ago, it seems the same kind of predictable that they are pursuing these two this spring.
The two names are Joey Porter Jr. and Jordan Addison, and both are exactly what the Steelers like about their rookies.
Kenny Pickett has spent the past week doing nothing but praising Addison and talking about how he’d like to see him back in Pittsburgh.
“I think the most impressive thing about him off the pitch is his attitude, the way he attacks work every day, how he was so eager to get into the movie theater every day with me and he’s never missed a pitching session since he was a freshman at Pitt,” Pickett said on Cam Heyward’s “Not Just Football” podcast. “For two years in a row, he’s always been there and when your No. 1 receiver does the right things, everyone follows. So it was easy to get the right play when Jordan was in there.”
A player who has the franchise’s quarterback endorsement and a hard work ethic? I can’t do better than that.
If he’s sitting there at 17, the Steelers will talk high and low about how he was their man because of his exceptional character and skills. A guy they couldn’t pass up.
With Porter Jr., this junior plays a big role, but so does his position.
The Steelers would love to bring the son of one of Pittsburgh’s greatest defensemen and continue the legacy of the Porter family name in black and gold. They know what they get from a mentor for the player, and if they like Porter as his presence at the establishment said last season, they have no problem signing his son.
He also fills a major need for the Steelers. While Calvin Austin is still a player with high expectations, Pittsburgh is currently considering a roster without Cam Sutton and Levi Wallace as their top cornerback.
With questions to Ahkello Witherspoon and William Jackson III, the secondary is a major concern for this team right now.
Porter is probably the second or third best cornerback in the draft. The Steelers will bring him up because of his lineage.
There are plenty of names the Steelers “could” target in the NFL Draft, but there are probably only two at the moment.
Be sure to bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, movie breakdowns and more!
Brock Purdy shows Steelers what they did wrong with Kenny Pickett
Tony Dungy Under Fire for Liter Box Tweet
JuJu Smith-Schuster takes a hit at the Steelers
The Steelers are too afraid to dream big
NFL Insider Blasts Steelers OC Ruling
Taylor Lewan hints he wants to join the Steelers
Kenny Pickett Spot on About Diontae Johnson, George Pickens