Category: Steelers Wire News

2024 NFL draft: Grade the Steelers pick of C Zach Frazier

We give the pick of Zach Frazier an A.

The Pittsburgh Steelers went into the 2024 NFL draft needing to rebuild the offensive line and boy howdy have they done it. First, the Steelers drafted their new starting right tackle in the first round when they selected former Washington tackle Troy Fautanu.

Then moving to the second round, Pittsburgh watched West Virginia center Zach Frazier fall into their laps. Frazier will be an immediate and significant upgrade over Mason Cole and is the second guy the Steelers have brought in to bring a nasty edge to an offensive line that got pushed around way too much last season.

For us, this one is an easy A, just like the Fautanu pick was. Frazier is a mauler who does everything you want from a center. He has a real shot to be the next great Steelers center and definitely the best guy since Maurkice Pouncey.

Cast your vote and give us your grade for the pick of Frazier.

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Steelers don’t view OT Troy Fautanu as a center

Mike Tomlin says Troy Fautanu is a tackle.

One of the first questions Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin got after selecting Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautaunu in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft was about what position Fautanu was going to play.

Tomlin made it clear the team views Fautanu as a tackle and they don’t see him as a center. Tomlin addressed some perceived concerns with his ability to play tackle in the NFL and he shot those down quickly.

“What are we talking about if he is a quarter of an inch taller, Tomlin asked. He’s got great arm length, and the tape is great.”

The Steelers has spent much more energy on offensive tackles than they had interior offensive line in the predraft process. The team has its starting tackles in Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones but there’s no doubt the team could improve upon Moore. Adding Fautanu should also let Jones transition to the left side which is his natural position.

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Grade the Steelers pick of OT Troy Fautanu in the 2024 NFL draft

We give the pick of Troy Fautanu an A by the Steelers.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers went on the clock in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, they had their pick of 8-10 players who could come in and contribute immediately. The team settled on Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu who gives the Steelers the flexibility of a player who could start at any spot on the offensive line.

Who did the Steelers leave on the board? Every cornerback including Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell and Iowa’s Cooper DeJean. Top wide receivers Brian Thomas and Adonai Mitchell as well as offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and Graham Barton.

What grade do you give the pick? Case your vote and let us know. For us, this one is an A. Fautanu or Graham Barton were our top players for the Steelers along with wide receiver Brian Thomas. Fautanu is going to be a starter for a very long time and probably move between multiple positions until he settles in.

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Steelers salary cap update after the Alex Highsmith restructure

The Steelers have a substantial amount of salary cap space.

On Wednesday, the news broke that the Pittsburgh Steelers were doing a simple restructure of edge defender Alex Highsmith’s contract to free up $7 million in salary cap space. This type of restructure is just a matter of moving some base salary into a bonus and pushing that base salary to later in the deal.

Based on the numbers at Over the Cap, this move would leave the Steelers with something in the neighborhood of $18,139,353 million in cap space heading into the 2024 NFL draft.

No team amasses that level of cap space just days before the draft unless there’s a plan to try and trade for a player who is going to cost big bucks. The position we keep hearing about with the Steelers is wide receiver. Specifically San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and Denver Broncos wide receiver Cortland Sutton.

The first round of the 2024 NFL draft kicks off on Thursday night and if the Steelers front office has a plan, it will all be clear by then.

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Which WR will the Steelers trade for?

The Steelers are freeing up money and we think it’s to pull off a big trade.

On Wednesday, the news came out that the Pittsburgh Steelers were restructuring the contract of edge defender Alex Highsmith to free up $7 million in cap space. With that, the trade anxiety around a top-tier wide receiver immediately intensified.

The two names being brought up when it comes to a trade are Courtland Sutton and Brandon Aiuyk. In Sutton, you get a talented player who has a solid relationship in place with new quarterback Russell Wilson. Aiyuk doesn’t have that relationship objectively speaking, is much more talented.

Trading for either one would come with a new contract that means money. The total cost of acquiring Aiyuk from draft picks to contract would be much more than that for Sutton but again it is about return on the investment.

This could all happen very quickly now that the Steelers are freeing up cap space. Cast your vote and let us know which receiver you think the Steelers will trade for.

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Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth top target to be traded during draft

Pat Freiermuth is our top veteran who could be traded during the 2024 NFL draft.

We have had some fun this offseason with some NFL draft trade speculation regarding some of the team’s top players in our mock drafts and it has been great to see how passionate fans are about it. It’s all in good fun.

But on Thursday the 2024 NFL draft kicks off and at that point, the aggressive Steelers front office is going to take the gloves off and could make some big moves.

In terms of which players could be on the trade block during the draft, I keep coming back to tight end Pat Freiermuth. He’s a top talent at his position but has been grossly underutilized during his tenure in Pittsburgh. He’s also in the final year of his rookie contract. In addition, the Steelers have Connor Heyward and Darnell Washington on the roster just waiting for their opportunities.

The tight end class in this year’s draft is pretty average after Brock Bowers so a pass catcher like Freiermuth could be in demand on the second day. The Steelers are in win-now mode and if trading Freiermuth could land them draft capital to improve the offensive line or secondary we are all for it.

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Strong draft haul could cost the Steelers invaluable FO staff

The Steelers have leaned heavily on assistant GM Andy Weidl in the draft.

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan gets all the credit for the Steelers strong offseason the last two years but there’s a forgotten name in the mix. That is assistant general manager Andy Weidl. When Khan spoke to the media on Monday, he heaped praise on Weidl and gave him credit for leading the process as the team prepares for the 2024 NFL draft.

I have a lot of anecdotes about Andy (Weidl) I’m not really going to share them. We go way back. But Andy’s (Weidl) been great. You know, I’ve said this before, I’m very fortunate to have a great staff around me. You know, with Andy (Weidl) and Sheldon White and Mark Sadowski, Cole Marcoux, Dan Colbert and the rest of the guys. It’s just been, they’re great for me. But
you know, Andy (Weidl) leads his process, and he does an awesome job of it and I’m excited about what Thursday is going to bring.

If the Steelers knock the 2024 NFL draft out of the park the way they did in 2023, Weidl will be a hot name for general manager vacancies in the 2025 offseason.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin shares importance of Top 30 visits

The Steelers always max out their Top 30 vists as part of the predraft process.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have always made a point to be very deliberate and intentional with their pre-draft visits. On Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media ahead of the 2024 NFL draft and he spoke on the franchise’s importance of those visits to the team.

You know, in some instances it’s significant and in some instances, it’s a box check. We got several ways to gain exposure to players during this process. You know, those that participate in the Senior Bowl, we get an opportunity and interview those guys down there. Obviously, we get Combine opportunities, Omar (Khan) and myself, we traveled to a lot of pro days. And
so, the 30 visits are another means of gathering pertinent information. Sometimes the guy is a non-combine invite, and we want medical information for example. Sometimes a guy wasn’t a Senior Bowl participant, and we didn’t interview him at the Combine. We also have local visits that are nonencounters. I just think largely for us, it’s about exposing ourselves to as many of these guys as we can. And the 30 visit is just a means of catching something if some of the other opportunities have not provided
that.

The Steelers have brought in a wide variety of prospects for visits and we fully expect the team’s first-round pick to come from that list. The Steelers are in a position to pick from top prospects at multiple positions including offensive line and wide receiver with the No. 20 overall pick.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin looking for a leap from young CBs

The Steelers have some quality young cornerbacks on the roster.

The offseason has been busy for the Pittsburgh Steelers in an attempt to turn over a solid chunk of the roster. One position where there were plenty of changes is at cornerback. Out are Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, Chandon Sullivan and Elijah Riley.

But as we’ve already pointed out, the Steelers might have enough cornerbacks on the roster already and don’t need to target one early in the 2024 NFL draft. Two guys in particular we are excited to see are Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush.

On Monday, head coach Mike Tomlin talked about those two guys and said he expected a significant step for them in their second seasons.

“They’re going into their second year,” Tomlin said. “We expect guys going into their second year to make a significant step.”

If the Steelers have confidence in Trice and Rush, in addition to new cornerback Donte Jackson, they might not need to spend a top pick on a starter or even a slot cornerback.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin: We ‘don’t feel overly thirsty’ heading into NFL draft

Pittsburgh had a huge free agency and can cruise into the NFL draft.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the big movers and shakers in free agency this offseason. General manager Omar Khan has put together back-to-back free agency hauls that have Steeler Nation excited about the future.

Khan also did well with the 2023 NFL draft and everyone is hoping for a repeat performance. But when head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media on Monday he was casual about the draft because of how well the Steelers did in free agency.

You know, it’s two means by which we develop our football team for 2024 that goes with existing talent: It’s free agency and the draft. We’ve been very active in free agency and that makes you really comfortable as we lean in on draft weekend. We’ve addressed a lot of needs and you don’t feel overly thirsty in any particular.

This is not to say the team doesn’t have needs, because it does. After trading away Diontae Johnson, the team is minus a starting wide receiver and they are still in need of another starting cornerback. Pittsburgh could also stand an upgrade at center and offensive tackle. Nevertheless, it sounds like the Steelers are going to let the first round unfold for them and let that dictate the direction they go.

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