Pittsburgh

Steelers

The Steelers traded up to select Jones with the No. 14 overall pick on draft night. The former Georgia Bulldog is expected to be a much-needed upgrade on an offensive line that struggled at times to keep Kenny Pickett upright. Jones allowed zero sacks in 15 games last season and earned AP First-Team All-SEC honors as a result. In addition to providing added protection in the passing game, Jones should also bolster a rush attack that’s expected to be among the more aggressive in the league.

Benton, the 49th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, signed a contract that includes guaranteed money in the third year -- an unprecedented deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Benton performed well at the NFL Combine after serving as the anchor of Wisconsin’s defensive line, recording 60 tackles in his final two collegiate seasons. He should be a plus for a Steelers defense graded by PFF as 2022’s tenth best run-defending unit.

Miller did not play at all last season after injuring his shoulder in training camp, and has essentially disappeared since being traded from the Bears to the Texans before the 2021 season. He’ll look to resurface elsewhere as a depth option.

Kaboly marked Warren as an “honorable mention” for his efforts in OTAs and minicamp, saying, “The way he attacks the hole during drills is something to be seen.” A rookie UDFA who ended last season as the Steelers’ RB2 on the depth chart, Warren has a chance to see significant work after totaling 593 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown on 105 touches last season. While he received significantly less work than Najee Harris last season, Warren looked like the better back whenever he was on the field. We’d expect Harris to continue to handle the early-down work, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Warren work more on third downs. He hauled in 28-of-33 targets last season, with 21 of those receptions coming in his final 10 games of the season. Warren is a high-end stash who could have top-24 upside if Harris were ever to miss time.

“The move to the slot appears to be natural for Robinson,” Kaboly concludes. Robinson could provide real competition to Pat Freiermuth in the red zone if he lives up to this praise. For now, given the target competition around him, we regard Robinson as more of a stash-and-monitor type than someone you have to spend real capital on in drafts.

Freiermuth practiced in Phase 3 of the Steelers’ OTAs. The third-year tight end looks on track to be fully cleared in August. Freiermuth will be returning from his first knee injury but has missed time the last two seasons to concussions. Injury concerns and the addition of rookie TE Darnell Washington as the Steelers’ new TE2 are threats to a lower snap rates for Freiermuth in 2023.

In an article published at The Athletic, Canada waxed poetic about the Steelers’ desire to run the ball this season. He noted that the Steelers aren’t going to “run it every play,” but it doesn’t sound like there are any plans to let Kenny Pickett loose in his second season at the helm. Canada specifically mentioned the Steelers’ identity as being what we saw in the team’s final nine games of last season when they had a pass rate over expected of negative seven percent. The Steelers haven’t been shy about handing the ball off to Najee Harris since drafting him 24th overall in 2021, but the former Alabama prospect has averaged just 3.9 YPC for his career and ranks among the league’s worst in explosive runs. The Steelers’ desire to establish it should bode well for Harris and backup Jaylen Warren from a fantasy perspective and could turn Warren into a sneaky late-round pick in drafts.

Freiermuth sprained his MCL in Pittsburgh’s regular-season finale but the injury hasn’t cost him time this offseason, with the 24-year-old participating at voluntary OTAs. The Steelers drafted third-round TE Darnell Washington in April, adding competition for Freiermuth and making it unlikely Freiermuth tops his 68% snap rate from last year. Freiermuth posted a 63/732/2 line under first-year starter Kenny Pickett in 2022.

Golden visited with the Steelers on Tuesday and was signed by Wednesday. Released by the Cardinals as a cap casualty earlier this offseason, Golden, who managed just 2.5 sacks last season, will look to rebound with the Steelers while playing opposite T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Golden totaled 11 sacks with the Cardinals in 2021 but has been inconsistent as a pass rusher since entering the league in 2015. At worst, he’s a veteran presence who will provide added depth to a pass rush that’s thin behind Watt.

Golden had 11.5 sacks in 2021, but flopped to just 2.5 in 2022 despite actually playing more snaps last season. He’d be a pass-downs rotational piece for the Steelers, who don’t have much established depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.