2023 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft a deep dive - Reviews, Grades, and Expectations

Omar Khan has displayed an aggressive demeanor that was only seen in streaks in the seasoned and successful career of Kevin Colbert. Colbert oversaw 21 Steelers’ drafts, and over that span only traded up in the first round 3 times. On the other hand, Khan is now one-for-one. Coming into this year’s draft, the biggest needs of the Steelers were: Offensive Tackle, Defensive Line, Edge Rusher, Inside/Off Ball Linebacker, and Cornerback (in no particular order). Let’s take a deep dive into Omar Khan’s first draft class with player and team fit reviews, grades, and expectations for these players in their rookie season:

Round 1 Pick 14: Broderick Jones – Offensive Tackle (L) – Georgia – 22 years old – 6’5” 311 lbs.

Review: The Pittsburgh Steelers traded for the New England Patriots 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft, giving up the 17th and 120th overall picks (pick 120 coming in the 4th round). Swinging for the fences from the get-go, Khan traded up in order to grab their highest rated player available and the overall highest-rated offensive tackle according to CollegeFootballNews.com, and third highest (graded just 0.1 lower than the second highest OT Paris Johnson Jr.) here at nfldraftbuzz.com. This move of course was necessary to reinforce the “Pickett Fence”, as the Steelers offensive line has come to nickname themselves.

In 2022, starting left tackle Dan Moore Jr., a 4th-round pick in the 2021 draft, started all 17 games and for a middle-round sophomore OT, performed fine. Not good, not bad, just fine. According to PFF, Moore allowed 7 sacks (tied for 7th most in the NFL), 39 quarterback pressures, 10 quarterback hits (QB Kenny Pickett was ruled out of two separate games due to concussion protocol), and 10 penalties (tied for 8th most in the NFL and double the 5 he accrued his rookie year). Moore also received mediocre blocking grades in both the pass and run, but with his pass blocking being a bit better than his run blocking.

On the opposite side of the line, starting at right tackle was Chukwuma Okorafor. Okorafor, a 3rd round pick in the 2018 draft, actually graded worse then Moore according to PFF despite having received a 3 year, $29.25 million dollar extension last off-season. Like Moore, Okorafor started all 17 games in 2022, and could be described as serviceable. He allowed only 3 sacks (tied for 49th in the NFL) and amassed only 4 penalties (tied for 55th in the NFL), but as mentioned previously, graded worse than Dan Moore Jr. based upon his inability to generate much push on the line and create gaps for running back Najee Harris. Okorafor finished the 2022 season ranking 61st of 81 eligible offensive tackles.

Broderick Jones was a 2020 high school All-American OT, 5-star prospect, 2021 Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC Team, an Associated Press All-SEC First-Team selection in 2022, and 2x CFP National Champion (2021 and 2022). In 2022, Jones started all 11 games, playing just over 800 snaps and allowed 0 sacks. On top of this, he allowed just 8 QB hurries and only 1 QB hit. As was evident on film of Jones’s play, he’s a force in the run game while respectable in the pass. Albeit, Jones’s stats come from college ball, I think it’s worth noting the level of competition he faced on the regular. Playing at Georgia in 2022, he faced Oregon, South Carolina, Missouri, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi St., LSU, Ohio St., and TCU.

This is just a long-winded way of saying the Pittsburgh Steelers needed improvement at the offensive tackle position in order to make a legitimate playoff push, and Broderick Jones fits the mold of a nasty, bully-style tackle that caters more to the run game, of which the Steelers have made known is the emphasis of their young offense.

Grade: A+

I gave the Pittsburgh Steelers an A+ for this pick because this was the guy they wanted all along and more importantly, needed. Having both their starting left and right tackle being graded as subpar to mediocre is not ideal to aid in the development of a young quarterback such as Kenny Pickett. As touched on previously, Kenny Pickett quite literally felt the mediocrity of his OT play as he suffered 2 separate concussions, missing nearly 2 entire games and part of a 3rd. This is unacceptable treatment of a quarterback the Steelers hope becomes the face of their franchise. Broderick Jones comes with the raw talent, size, and experience to help shore up the O-Line and will likely make an immediate impact.

Expectation:

Giving rookies expectations is always a tricky conversation, because let’s face it, they’re rookies. That being said, given the need and draft capital used for Broderick Jones, he is expected to be the day 1 starter at left tackle. It’s reasonable to assume that Dan Moore Jr. will receive most of the 1st team reps at left tackle initially in camp, and over time Jones will tug-of-war the job away from him prior to the Steelers first game of the season against the 49ers. On the contrary, I can see a world in which Jones starts on the bench as the 6th lineman in order to learn and adjust to NFL play. However, given Head Coach Mike Tomlin’s assessment that “He’s [Jones] got big-time upside,” “But he’s also a good football player right now”, I’d expect him on the field sooner rather than later. A rookie campaign won’t be without mistakes, and I project Jones to be a bit too handsy at first and draw his fair share of penalties. Be that as it may, I believe he’ll be dominant in the run game once he gets his feet wet, and will do a better job than Dan Moore Jr. in protecting Kenny Pickett.

Round 2 Pick 32: Joey Porter Jr. – Cornerback – Penn State – 22 years old – 6’2” 193 lbs.

Review: Prior to the NFL trade deadline of the 2022 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded away 3rd year WR Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears for their 1st pick of the 2nd round (this was the 32nd pick due to the Miami Dolphins forfeiting their 1st round pick for tampering). With this pick, Khan and Co. selected Joey Porter Jr., son of former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr. (four time Pro Bowler and 2006 Super Bowl Champion). Joey Porter Jr. was ranked the 3rd best CB in this years draft by our rankings at nfldraftbuzz.com, as well as by walterfootball.com and foxsports.com. Porter Jr. falling to 32 came with seismic levels of shock to many and had Steelers fans holding their breaths, as he was projected to fall somewhere in the middle of the first round and was a potential target for the Steelers at pick 14 (NFLDraftBuzz had an overall rank of 17.8). Instead of being the 3rd CB taken off the board as was projected, he was the 5th (after Devon Witherspoon, Emmanuel Forbes, Christian Gonzalez, and Deonte Banks).

In 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback room comprised of Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon, Levi Wallace, James Pierre, and Arthur Maulet. Despite the lack of big name talent this secondary was one of the Steelers’ most consistent position groups and aided the team to tie for the most interceptions in the NFL in 2022 with 20 (tied with the San Francisco 49ers). However, a further dive into the analytics shows that the team’s CBs only accounted for half of these interceptions, was amongst the middle of the pack and ranking 14th for giving up the most passing yards, and tied for allowing the 2nd most passing touchdowns in the league (29). According to PFF, only one Steelers CB ranked in the top 32 corners in the league in 2022, and that was Cam Sutton at 24th.

Since the end of the season, Pittsburgh lost Cam Sutton to the Detroit Lions in free agency, Ahkello Witherspoon was released and signed by the Los Angeles Rams, and Arthur Maulet demanded his release and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens. On the other hand the Steelers signed veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson (who was ranked the 7th best CB in the league by PFF), NFL journeyman Chandon Sullivan (most recently with the Minnesota Vikings), and Luq Barcoo who’s coming off a standout XFL season. To summarize: The Steelers needed secondary help coming into this years draft.

Joey Porter Jr. was named Third-Team All-Big Ten in 2021, 2022 Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist, 2022 Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist, 2022 Lott IMPACT Trophy Semifinalist, Penn State’s Most Valuable Defensive Player in 2022, First-Team All-Big Ten in 2022, and All-American Second-Team in 2022. The most admirable thing about JPJs collegiate career was his progression from year-to-year. He went from allowing a QB rating when targeted of 156.3 (the highest it can go is 158.3) his redshirt freshman year in 2019 (played in 4 games) to 63.6 his redshirt junior year in 2022. In 2021, as a redshirt sophomore he finished the year with 51 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception, and 4 pass breakups. Then in 2022, Porter notched 27 tackles, broke up 11 passes, and recovered one fumble.

With the Steelers' first two picks of the NFL draft they managed to hit two different areas of need, filling these voids with top level talent. Joey Porter Jr. brings youth, athleticism, and a feisty, physical presence to the Steelers' older and more technical cornerback room.

Grade: A+

I gave the Steelers an A+ for this pick and here’s why: Joey Porter Jr. should not have still been available at pick 32, thus the value is tremendous. The Steelers desperately needed to add youth to their secondary and did just that with the 22-year-old. Finally, the Steelers’ defense is predicated on physicality and the ability to thwart offenses by overpowering them and forcing them into mistakes. Joey Porter Jr. fits that bill to a tee, being known for his physicality, size, and range.

Expectation:

Looking at the Pittsburgh Steelers current corner situation and the draft capital spent on this selection, I believe it’s more than feasible to expect Joey Porter Jr. to be on the field early and often in 2023. Patrick Peterson will certainly be on the field the most out of anyone in this CB room and given how well Levi Wallace performed last year it’s expected he will hold down CB2 duties. This leaves Porter to either starting on the opposite side of Wallace with Peterson playing primarily in the slot, or Porter coming off the bench frequently throughout games. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin said when interviewed, “We’re looking forward to him [Porter] coming in and competing, having an opportunity to help us win games this year” and “He [Porter] is going to have every opportunity to get in there and show us what he can do.”. I expect more than a few takeaways from Porter in his rookie season, as opposing teams will target the young rookie, but I also expect a fair amount of penalties as he adjusts to the NFL.

Round 2 Pick 49: Keeanu Benton – Defensive Lineman – Wisconsin – 22 years old – 6’4” 309 lbs.

Review: Keeanu Benton’s positional ranking coming into the 2023 NFL Draft was a bit all over the place. A majority of scouts could agree on ranking him in the top 10 defensive tackle prospects, however some had him as high as the 2nd best DT while others had him hovering around 10th. Here at nfldraftbuzz.com, we had him at 2nd (to clarify: some of the variability in Benton’s ranking had to do with the overlap of prospects being classified as DTs or DEs). His average overall rank was 56.5, and Benton was projected as a mid-late 2nd round or early 3rd round pick.

This last season the Steelers’ defense had 40 sacks (which tied the Buffalo Bills for 14th most in the league and was the first time in 5 years the Steelers did not lead the league in sacks), and the defensive line accounted for just 14 of those (Cam Heyward accounting for 10.5 of the 14). The argument would usually be that T.J. Watt accounts for most of the sacks, so of course the defensive line only gets the scraps. However, let’s not forget that T.J. Watt injured his knee and pectoral in Week 1 of the 2022 season against the Cincinnati Bengals and missed 7 games which led to him producing a career-low 5.5 sacks. Despite dipping in the sacks category, the Steelers improved greatly this last year in rushing defense. They went from last place in rushing yards allowed in 2021 to 9th in 2022, last place in YPC in 2021 to tied for 6th in 2022, 22nd in rushing touchdowns allowed in 2021 to tied for 1st in 2022. The point of all these statistics is to show that the Steelers defensive line is really good, but there are two weaknesses to the group: pass rush success and the lack of promising youth.

That is where Keeanu Benton fits in. Benton is of course young, having just turned 22 in July. Now in regards to his ability to succeed in rushing the QB, Benton was primarily known for his run-stuffing capabilities that were evident every time the Badgers touched the field, however each year he improved upon his pass rush. In 2021, Benton recorded 25 tackles, 5 of which were TFL, with 2 fumble recoveries, and 2.5 sacks, earning him All-Big Ten Second Team honors. In 2022, he played one less game than in 2021 yet managed to rack up 36 tackles, 10 TFL, and 4.5 sacks, earning him All-Big Ten Third Team honors.

Omar Khan went 3/3 on hitting areas of need in the first 3 picks of the 2023 NFL Draft. This time in the form of a big, strong, combative, and agile defensive lineman, that can learn behind and relieve the likes of 34-year-old Cam Heyward and 29-year-old Larry Ogunjobi.

Grade: B+

I gave the Steelers a B+ for this pick, because once again a need was met (albeit may be more a depth need at this point), Benton was the best available defensive lineman, and his menacing-style of play matches the energy of the Steelers’ defensive line. I didn’t give it an A- or higher simply because Keeanu Benton is a known run-stuffer, of which the Steelers already have quite a few, and his play is raw and in need of development and refinement.

Expectation:

As was touched on earlier in this article, the Steelers defensive front was in need of some help in this draft. Keeanu Benton was an interesting choice, because although he meets the need, his position in the NFL and more specifically in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 style defense is up in the air. If the Steelers were to keep him in the defensive/nose tackle position that he played at Wisconsin, there’s a real opportunity for Benton to win the starting role. His competition would include Montravius Adams who had an abysmal 2022 season (of which injuries may have played a role), and veterans Armon Watts and Breiden Fehoko, who both have yet to play a down for the Steelers. On the other hand, given his agility and improved pass rushing moves, the potential is also there for Benton to play at defensive end. If this scenario were to come true, he would certainly be behind Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, and DeMarvin Leal, but given his talent would likely come in to spell any of the 3 mentioned above. Regardless of how Benton earns his spot on the field, I would not expect many sacks his rookie year and instead see his immediate future being primarily as an anchor in the middle of the line that takes on multiple blockers, allowing the likes of Watt, Highsmith, Heyward, and Ogunjobi to get to the opposing quarterback.

Round 3 Pick 93: Darnell Washington – Tight End – Georgia – 22 years old – 6’7” 264 lbs.

Review: Omar Khan and the Steelers traded again, this time sending the Carolina Panthers the 80th overall pick (a 3rd round pick) for the Panthers’ 93rd overall pick (a 3rd round pick) and the 132nd overall pick (a 4th round pick). “He is a huge human being,” said Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada, describing Darnell Washington. I believe that sums up Darnell Washington quite well. But seriously, the guy is 6’7” 264 lbs. and towers over other tight ends, and frankly looks like he belongs with the offensive tackles. On top of his incredible size, he is extremely athletic. Posting a 91 Athleticism Score (out of 100), ran a 4.64 40-yard dash (6th best amongst TEs), 4.08 20-yard shuttle (the best amongst TEs), and 1.57-second 10-yard split (tied for the 2nd best amongst TEs). Nfldraftbuzz.com ranked Darnell Washington the 2nd best TE prospect in the draft, and he was only graded 0.5 lower than the highest-rated Michael Mayer. The overall consensus of other scouts and sites was that Washington was anywhere from the 2nd best TE in this draft to the 5th best. His overall ranking by nfldraftbuzz.com was 26th, projecting him to be a late first-rounder. This was echoed by NFL.com and Next Gen Stats which ranked Washington as the 2nd best TE in the Combine and Draft and also projected him to be a first-round selection.

At first glance, this pick may have come off as odd. Tight end was not one of the aforementioned needs of the team, and just two years ago they selected TE Pat Freiermuth in the second round. On top of that, Freiermuth has been really good for the Steelers putting up nearly 500 yards and 7 touchdowns his rookie season, and 732 yards with 2 touchdowns this last year. However, Freiermuth is seen in this offense as receiving/vertical threat, and his blocking has been mediocre to this point. Behind Freiermuth is veteran Zach Gentry, who re-signed with the team this offseason on a cheap, one-year deal. Gentry’s impact on this offense is minimal, with the occasional run-blocking assignments and dump-down passes, but he is reliable. Finally, there’s last year’s rookie Connor Heyward, though I’m not really including him in this group as a factor to drafting Washington due to the fact that Heyward is more of a utility/gadget player that will line up at FB, HB, slot WR, and TE. So, looking back on what was just said, why take Washington here? I’ll tell you why. To protect Kenny Pickett, as well as provide yet another weapon to his arsenal that is already loaded with young talent.

Darnell Washington was a starter for the majority of Georgia’s games since the time he joined the team as a freshman in 2020. His junior year season in 2022, he started 14 of their 15 games and had 28 catches for 454 yards and 2 touchdowns. Interestingly, Washington was known to Bulldogs’ players, coaches, and fans, as the 6th lineman for his inept ability to completely displace opponents when run and pass blocking.

Grade: A

I gave the Steelers an A for the Darnell Washington pick because, like Joey Porter Jr., he simply should not have been available anywhere near this late of a pick. The fear amongst teams in drafting Washington was his “injury history”, so let’s take a look at that. In August of 2021, Washington suffered a pedal foot fracture in practice that required surgery to repair. However, he only missed 4 games that season. In March of 2022, he missed a handful of spring practices due to “foot soreness”, but was ready to go by Week 1. Then on December 31st, 2022, Washington sprained his ankle in the CFB Semifinal game against Ohio State but returned for the National Championship game. After the 2022 season and prior to the draft, Washington had a minor procedure to clean up cartilage in his knee. “I never tore anything in the knees,” Washington said. “I had knee surgery on the right knee, but that was just cartilage that flaked up, they went in and cleaned it. There was no break, no tear, no nothing.”. He has never had a knee injury to date. That being said, Washington has tremendous potential in the NFL as he already is a polished blocker and has the speed, agility, and frame to be a lethal and unexpected threat in the passing game.

Expectation:

Given the League’s transition back towards more 12/multi-tight end personnel sets and the success of it that can easily be seen when watching any of the Kansas City Chiefs games, it is without a doubt that Darnell Washington will see the field for the Black and Gold during the 2023 season. To what extent is a little trickier to answer at this point in time? The expectation is for Freiermuth to be the number one TE option, and that will not change. The number two spot, however, could be up for grabs. Of the tight ends on the team (refer back to my review of Darnell Washington for the other TEs on the Steelers’ roster) Washinton could very well be the best blocker already. For a team that predicates their success on running the ball, this could very well mean that big ol’ number 80 sees his fair share of time on the field. I do not expect more than 200 yards of receiving this year for Washington, but I do expect a touchdown or two.

Round 4 Pick 132: Nick Herbig – Linebacker – Wisconsin – 21 years old – 6’2” 240 lbs.

Review: With the 132nd overall pick that Pittsburgh obtained in the trade with the Carolina Panthers, they selected Wisconsin linebacker/edge rusher Nick Herbig. All Steelers fans knew this pick was a possibility given the need for depth at the edge rusher position, as well as because the Steelers love having family on the team, and this offseason they signed Nick’s brother offensive guard Nate Herbig to a 2-year deal. Nick Herbig was the 17th ranked OLB/Edge by our rankings at nfldraftbuzz.com and had an overall ranking of 83rd, projecting him to land in the 3rd round.

The Steeler's edge rushing duo of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith is among the best in the league if it isn’t the best. When looking at the depth behind them prior to the draft, it was nonexistent. No, literally. Former backup Malik Reed signed with the Miami Dolphins, and Jamir Jones was released after being arrested on domestic violence charges. Edge rusher Quincey Roche was on the roster as he was signed by the team in January after being cut by the team in 2021 after drafting him in the 6th round. Therefore, this was a position of need for the Steelers in the 2023 draft.

Nick Herbig was known to the Badgers as living in the backfield, usually leaving the opposing QB on the ground. Throughout his 3-year career at Wisconsin, Herbig amassed 137 tackles, 36 TFL, a whopping 21 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 7 passes defended. In his 2022 season alone, he started all 11 games and led the Badgers with 11 sacks (most in a single season since 2019 for UW) and 15.5 TFL (led the Big Ten in TFL and ranked 18th in the country). These stats earned him First-Team All-Big Ten and Second-Team All-American honors.

Grade: B+

The Steelers get a B+ for this selection. Not to keep using one of the same reasons, but what can I say when it’s true! Nick Herbig was projected to land an entire round earlier then this pick, and as such, is fantastic value for the Steelers in the 4th round. Building on this, Pittsburgh needed more bodies for edge rusher depth and the guy they selected for this job was a Second-Team All-American that had 11 sacks his last season in college. The reason I didn’t give this pick an A- or higher comes down to Herbig being a tad undersized, as well as his inability to set the edge against the run, followed by the fact that he will be coming off the bench.

Expectation:

The expectation is that Nick Herbig will slot in as a rotational piece to relieve Watt and Highsmith on the edge. This will likely occur on passing downs in 2023, unless more is shown during training camp and preseason performances. I’d like to think that Herbig will land his first professional sack in 2023, but I wouldn’t expect more than a couple. The hope is that in relief he can aid in getting to the opposing quarterback and get the defense off the field.

Round 7 Pick 241: Cory Trice Jr. – Cornerback – Purdue – 23 years old – 6’3” 206 lbs.

Review: As was mentioned in the review of the Joey Porter Jr. selection, the Pittsburgh Steelers desperately needed help in their secondary coming into the 2023 draft. There are a lot of similarities between this selection and the selection of JPJ, and by the end of this, you’ll see what I mean. Cory Trice Jr. was the 45th-ranked safety prospect according to nfldraftbuzz.com and was projected to be an undrafted free agent. Other scouts and sports sites, on average, gave Trice Jr. a bit higher ranking as a cornerback prospect and ranked him 150.6th overall, projecting him to land towards the beginning of the 5th round. While still, other pre-draft analysts classified Trice as a potential end-of-3rd to beginning-of-4th-round pick. As it turned out, nfldraftbuzz.com was the closest with their projection, but let’s look at why some saw Trice Jr. as a potential earlier pick.

Cory Trice Jr. played five seasons at Purdue, where he totaled 106 tackles, 4 TFL, 15 pass deflections, 5 interceptions, and 2 defensive touchdowns. In his 2022 season alone, he was responsible for 34 tackles, 2 TFL, 10 pass deflections, 2 interceptions, and 1 defensive touchdown, earning him All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors. In addition to his well-rounded stat sheet, Trice Jr. possesses the ideal corner build and measurables. He stands at 6’3” 206 lbs., with 32 3/8-inch arm length, and a 4.4 forty. Another interesting note on Trice is that he scored a 9.63 out of 10.00 on the Relative Athletic Score (RAS), which ranked 77th out of 2068 cornerback prospects from 1987 to 2023.

So, why did he drop in the draft? Trice not being selected until the 7th round occurred because of his extensive injury history, which includes: an ACL tear in his left knee in 2021, a fractured ankle, a few high ankle sprains, as well as a groin injury that sidelined him for a few games.

Grade: B-

I gave the Steelers a B- for their Cory Trice Jr. pick. The reason why the grade is as high as it is has to do with the fact that he should not have still been available at this pick, in my opinion. His talent and statistics alone tend to land a CB prospect in the 4th to 5th round, and his size and measurables boost that even further. However, the injury history just cannot be ignored, and for this reason, I couldn’t put him any higher than a B-. High risk, high-reward pick for Pittsburgh.

Expectation:

Despite being a 7th-round pick, and this not always even being likely, I project Cory Trice Jr. to be a lock for making the Steeler's 53-man roster. This stems from what I mentioned earlier in my Joey Porter Jr. review, that the Steelers truly just need more players and more youth in the CB room. On top of this, Trice Jr. has the skill and opportunity to break into the rotation that sees the field on a regular basis. With the physicality and tenacity that Trice Jr. likes to play with, I see a majority of his impact being made in 2023 on the special teams’ side of things. If he were to make it on the defensive side of the ball in his rookie season, it would be to allow the other corners ahead of him on the depth chart a chance to breathe and would be no more than 15 snaps a game.

Round 7 Pick 251: Spencer Anderson – Offensive Lineman – Maryland – 23 years old – 6’5” 304 lbs.

Review: With their final pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers doubled up on the offensive line by selecting Spencer Anderson out of Maryland. According to nfldraftbuzz.com’s rankings, Spencer Anderson was the 14th-best offensive guard out of 32 total prospects. Anderson was projected both by nfldraftbuzz.com and other scouts and sites to be either a 7th-round draft pick or an undrafted free agent.

Spencer Anderson made his first start in 2019 for the Terps as a redshirt freshman and started every game after that through his 2022 season. Steelers fans, what I’m about to tell you regarding Anderson’s starts is the reason why Khan and Tomlin took a shot on Spencer Anderson in the 7th round. As a redshirt freshman, Anderson played at right tackle in all his appearances. In his sophomore season, he played 4 games at left tackle and 1 game at center (season was cut short by COVID). In his junior season in 2021, he played 9 games at right tackle and 4 at center. Finally, in his last season, Anderson was at right guard for 12 games and spent 1 game at right tackle. In his last season in 2022, Anderson played a total of 847 snaps, allowing 10 QB hurries, 2 QB hits, and 2 sacks.

Grade: C+

Grading prospects taken in the 7th round is incredibly hard to do, as these picks are a bit more of a throw of the dice unless their projected ranking was higher than a 7th-round selection. The reason the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Spencer Anderson was because of his versatility. They are notorious for taking shots on guys that play numerous positions, thus being able to maneuver the roster in a much easier manner if an injury were to occur. I’ll give that to Anderson, he is versatile. His stats in college were incredibly impressive, given his frequent bouncing around the O-Line, leading up to his senior year. Though, his senior year was far and away, statistically, his worst season.

Expectation:

Believe it or not, I do believe Spencer Anderson will make the 53-man roster for the Steelers. Despite Pittsburgh now having an abundance of capable offensive linemen on the roster, I think that Anderson’s positionless versatility gives him a bit of an edge. Do not take this the wrong way. Spencer Anderson will not start any games in 2023, but I could see a situation in which an injury or two occurs and he steps in for a handful of snaps. He is a very smart and athletic offensive lineman and that benefits him greatly, but his run blocking needs some serious improvement before the Steelers would entrust him to keep Najee Harris clean.