A year ago, the Steelers were very active in the trade market moving up on the first day of the draft before trading back in the third round to acquire additional picks.
This year, not so much.
No matter how difficult a decision it was whether to stick where they were at and pick or trade up or down, Steelers GM Omar Khan was unmoved.
"We had conversations about moving up and the phone was ringing about moving down," Khan said. "Really, every round we were in, we had a pick, we were having conversations about moving up, moving down. It was pretty active."
In the end, however, in each case, the Steelers had a player they coveted available to them when each respective pick rolled around.
For what the Steelers' perceived needs were coming into this draft, the team filled them in no small order, revamping the offensive line while adding an offensive playmaker, a defensive playmaker and a pair of late-round athletes who were worth taking a flier on.
And every one of the team's picks was a well-experienced player who, while still experiencing young player issues, should be able to contribute very early as rookies.
"I don't know that it's in every instance there's something along those lines, but obviously we value the tape, and oftentimes tape is produced by good relationships with the game and work ethic and being solid individuals," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. "We value all of those things. We research. I think that's kind of reflective of this group."
It's a big reason why they were so comfortable taking them where they did.
In nearly every instance, when the Steelers' pick rolled around, there was a player available that they had done extensive homework on. And those players had plenty of tape available.
Five of the team's seven draft picks were players who came to Pittsburgh on top-30 pre-draft visits. One of the exceptions was wide receiver, a third-round draft pick, and the Steelers were at the Michigan pro day and took Wilson out to dinner.
They knew these players – as well as a team can know a player in the pre-draft process – and had a good idea of how the board would fall.
That's a good job by the scouting department as a whole. The Steelers identified who they wanted to the point that five of their 30-pre draft visitors were added to the roster in the draft. Another, cornerback Beanie Bishop, was added as an undrafted free agent. And they came, in many cases, as value picks because the Steelers knew what they wanted and how and where they wanted to acquire them.
"You have no choice but to be patient on draft weekend," Khan said. "But it all comes down to what players are there when you're picking, and you try to make the right decisions, whether to move up, move down, or take a pick. I know we made some moves last year, but when there's a good player there, it's hard to trade away from and we had the opportunity to trade away, to trade back this year, and with where we were, we just felt really good about the players we took and where we took them."
• By all accounts, the Steelers nailed the 2024 NFL Draft.
In fact, their grade for the draft ranged from the B-plus to A-plus range according to the "experts" who do such things.
Thing is, it probably makes more sense to wait until at least after a year – or more – before we truly begin to pass judgments on a team's draft.
Last year, many of the "experts" ripped the Detroit Lions because they used high draft picks on positions the "experts" don't feel teams should invest high picks in – running back and inside linebacker.
But at least in some small part, the Lions don't make it to the NFC Championship without the efforts of running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell.
Maybe the draft grades are right about the Steelers' draft class. It certainly looks good.
But the grades aren't any more meaningful than if they had been bad. Just keep that in mind.
• Of the 32 picks in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 18 had their fifth-year option picked up.
One of those that did not was Steelers running back Najee Harris.
That does not, however, mean that Harris was somehow a bad pick at 24.
After all, he's got over 1,000 more rushing yards than the next closest player taken in that draft – Rhamondre Stevenson – and is eighth in receptions with 144, the most of any running back selected in that draft, as well.
Harris' 4,135 yards from scrimmage since joining the league are the most of any player from the 2021 draft, which also includes the likes of Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. His 28 touchdowns are one fewer than Chase for the most in the class.
That's not a bad pick.
What the Steelers not picking up Harris' fifth-year option means is that they did not want to lock him in at the fifth-year option guaranteed salary.
That does not mean, however, that they can't still work out a long-term deal with Harris as the Ravens did with 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
• How different is the new kickoff rule? Consider that – at least according to Jaylen Warren on Cam Heyward's Not Just Football podcast – Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith brought up the idea of using quarterback Justin Fields as a kick returner.
And nobody flat-out laughed at the idea.
Now, the Steelers aren't likely to go that route. They signed Cordarrelle Patterson soon after the rule promoting more kick returns in 2024 was passed earlier this year.
But it does show that Smith is thinking outside the box on this one.
• The city of Detroit drew 775,000 people to NFL Draft-related events last weekend, setting a new benchmark for the event.
We could find out in the next few weeks whether the efforts of the city of Pittsburgh and the Steelers have lured the draft here for either 2026 or 2027, but the financial impact of hosting the event is a big one.
Per the Detroit News, hotel revenues were the highest recorded in the city's history. And remember, Detroit hosted the Super Bowl in 2006.
Overall, Visit Detroit president and CEO Claude Molinari said the economic impact of hosting the draft will exceed the pre-event estimates of $150 to $175 million.
