The 2023 NFL Draft is officially over, and now over 250 college prospects have new homes, including seven on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh, who finished 9-8 in 2022, looked to have a productive draft to build on last year’s team. The Steelers ended up with seven new players who will now start vying for spots on the roster. Pittsburgh had one first-round pick, three in the second and third rounds, and three in rounds four through seven. They look to have made the most of their selections with a sneaky good and very impressive draft class in 2023.
Overall, the Steelers picked each of the following players in this year’s draft:
- Round 1, Pick 14: Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia
- Round 2, Pick 32: Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State
- Round 2, Pick 49: Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin
- Round 3, Pick 93: Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
- Round 4, Pick 132: Nick Herbig, LB, Wisconsin
- Round 7, Pick 241: Cory Trice, CB, Purdue
- Round 7, Pick 251: Spencer Anderson, OG, Maryland
Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 NFL Draft Grade: A-, 9.1/10
Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 NFL Draft Review
The Steelers had a sneaky good draft where most of the picks were not highly popular but are still good. Both Wisconsin defenders, Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig, were higher on a lot of people’s draft boards but fell way below the mark before the Steelers snatched them up. The big goal of the draft was to beef up the offensive line, or the “Pickett Fence,” and revitalize the defense with some new studs. The Steelers handled that very well while also adding some depth pieces at other positions not necessarily of need.
The Steelers made a couple of trades that impacted where they selected and who they selected. In Thursday’s first round, they traded up three picks with the Patriots to jump the Jets and grab Broderick Jones. On Friday night during the third round, Pittsburgh this time traded back approximately 15 picks from 80th overall to 93rd overall in exchange for a later pick. They were able to score both TE Darnell Washington and LB Nick Herbig with that trade back, and both guys could be studs in the making and potential steals. Now, let’s meet each player in the new draft class and see how they fit in with the rest of the team.
The Best Selection: Broderick Jones
Jones, a 6’5″ 300+ lb. offensive tackle from Georgia, was taken 14th overall by Pittsburgh. He is a big, physical tackle whom the Steelers will enjoy blocking for Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris. Despite his big size, he is pretty agile and quick too, though he does have some things to work on. Jones only started one year at Georgia but he should get plenty of experience in Pittsburgh. Jones was projected to be around the 15th overall pick so the Steelers got a value selection early. He could very well be the starting left tackle in 2023 with a few members of Pittsburgh’s line struggling. The whole line looks to be revitalized and could be among the league’s best, and Jones only makes that more likely.
14th overall pick Broderick Jones is ready to serve some pancakes in Pittsburgh #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/6CK0NpWfch
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 28, 2023
The Potential Steal: Joey Porter Jr.
Porter was appropriately taken by the Steelers but the position in which they got him is surprising. A lot of draft boards had the cornerback going in the mid-first round, primarily to the Steelers at 17. But, he just fell through the back half of the round and was there right away on Day 2. Porter is a big, physical cornerback who is really good in the run game. He has a lot of things to work on and sharpen up before he’s an NFL star but he’ll have one of the decade’s best corners, Patrick Peterson, to mentor him in 2023. He has the potential and the right developmental situation to turn into one of the class’ best corners.
Most Likely To Turn Heads Early: Darnell Washington
Washington was initially projected to be one of the top five-ish tight ends in 2023. But, injury and lack of experience concerns certainly tanked his stock enough to where he slid to 93rd overall. Washington is a 6’7″ physical tight end who is basically a people mover. He doesn’t have a whole lot of experience in games in terms of pass-catching but he has raw talent that can be developed. Washington is probably the most likely to turn heads early in training camp because he’ll start to enforce his physical power on the Steelers’ defenders and opponents in the preseason. Although he will not be the starting tight end or even the second tight end, he could be useful in various schemes and could very well enhance his role with a successful camp.
The Rest
Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig are both potential studs from the University of Wisconsin. Both guys project to be solid defensive options within the Steelers’ front seven. Benton is a big, strong defensive tackle who just causes chaos at the line. His production stat-wise isn’t that impressive but his tape says otherwise.
Herbig is a smaller, faster edge rusher who will probably have to move to the linebacker position. He had an impressive line of 108 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, and 20 sacks in the past two seasons, making him one of the most dominant edge rushers in all of college football. However, he is a lot smaller so he’ll likely have to convert to being a linebacker in the NFL. As long as he can carry over his speed, strength, and production, he could immediately make an impact on the Steelers’ defense.
The other two picks of the Steelers’ limited 2023 draft were Cory Trice and Spencer Anderson. Trice is similar to Porter Jr. in the way that they are both taller and more physical cornerbacks. These two aren’t necessarily playmakers in terms of interceptions and whatnot but that can be developed with proper coaching. Both Trice and Porter have Big 10 experience playing against some of the nation’s better receivers.
Anderson was a seventh-round guard out of Maryland and looks to be nothing more than a depth piece at this point. He is very versatile, having played at all five offensive line positions throughout his college career, and could find a spot as a backup somewhere. He is pretty big and physical and worked well with a spread offense at Maryland, just like the one the Steelers run with Matt Canada (who did coach at Maryland).
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
