Pittsburgh Steelers 2018 Draft Class Review

With the 2018 NFL Draft behind us, it’s time to begin the review process on how each team stacks up with the selections they’ve made. The Pittsburgh Steelers window for elite success could be closing quickly as Ben Roethlisberger flirts with retirement and LeVeon Bell could become a free agent next season. This draft was an interesting one for the Steelers as they looked to gain an edge for another Super Bowl run, while trying to build for the future. Some intriguing selections were made from this class, let’s review… 

Pittsburgh Steelers 2018 Draft Class Review:

Round 1 – Pick 28 (28)

Terrell Edmounds (DB)

With their first pick in the draft the Steelers may have reached on this one selecting former Virginia Tech safety Terrell Edmounds. Seeing his brother chosen earlier in the first round to the Buffalo Bills happened to mark this as the first time in draft history we have seen siblings taken in the first round of the draft. While Terrell isn’t as big and may not have as much talent as his brother, he still possesses a very good skillset that should work well with the Steelers. Edmounds is put together very well with a solid frame teamed with great speed, good athleticism and great intelligence to man the safety position. The question is the value to where the Steelers chose to select Edmounds as it’s very possible he would’ve been there in the second round. However, it’s obvious General Manager Kevin Colbert was taking no chances and got the player he coveted so greatly.

In reviewing Edmounds college career, he was most productive in his sophomore campaign playing mostly as a line backer raking up over 100 tackles and 4 interceptions. With that said it’s his versatility that would’ve struck the Steelers eye as he is capable of lining up close to the line while seeing no drop off when playing back into coverage and manning the middle of the field. Terrell is a good player that should benefit more from great coaching within the Pittsburgh franchise whom is known for developing great defensive talent. He should find a role early with the potential to man a starting gig later in the season.      

ADF Prediction: Good potential, great team fit.

Round 2 – Pick 28 (60)

James Washington (WR)

During the draft the Steelers found a trade partner in the Oakland Raiders and shipped troubled, underused receiver Martavis Bryant leaving Pittsburgh short of a complementary receiver behind Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Enter James Washington formally of Oklahoma State with the Steelers second round pick. Washington is a very intriguing prospect that could easily fit the role once held by Bryant with his good straight line speed to keep defenses honest, and allowing the running game to still see no eight man boxes. Starting slow as a freshman, James was able to put things together quickly progressing fantastically in his final three season at Oklahoma. Bosting career numbers which saw Washington haul in 226 receptions for 4472 yards and 39 touchdowns proved he was a playmaker increasing his totals on a yearly basis.

James has some red flags that could be concerning at the next level being a little undersized in terms of height to man an outside position, but his frame is very solid. At 215 pounds, Washington does possess good speed as he posted a nice 4.54 at the combine. James clearly shows the second level burst that allows him to pull away from defensive backs with ease. ADF does question how he’ll handle NFL press coverages as his release off the line does leave something to be desired. With a subpar release, we also question his route running ability and separation skill to find his way open on slant routes. With that said, the Steelers are magicians when it comes to finding talent at the receiver position and we know he’ll be used favourably giving him the best opportunity to make plays. This should work out well for Pittsburgh.   

ADF Prediction: Moderate potential, good upside.  

Round 3 – Pick 12 (76)

Mason Rudolph (QB)

With a potential historic class of quarterbacks coming from this draft, the Steelers got fantastic value from their third round selection in drafting Mason Rudolph to tentatively become the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger. ADF is a big fan of Rudolph and what he brings to the fold. First, he looks the part of an NFL quarterback standing 6’5” tall and weighing 235 pounds, much like Big-Ben almost looking like mirror images of each other. Second, the fantastic progression seen from year one to year four in college proves adaptability and keen understanding of the game of football which should be translated well into the NFL.

Mason is an accurate passer that shows good vision down the field and reading defenses appropriately allowing his receivers to get separation while throwing strikes consistently over the middle of the field, A+ marks for the future NFL quarterback. Rudolph is one of our favorite quarterbacks to come out of this draft simply based on potential with what is yet to come. Having great success in college garnering 63 percent completions for 13618 passing yards and 92 touchdowns  to go alone with a mere 26 interceptions isn’t something that should be overlooked. The greatest benefit for Mason in year one is that he will have the luxury of sitting behind a future hall of famer learning the game and perfecting his skills to try and take over the Steelers as their starting pivot for many years to come. If Mason progresses the way we believe he will, Pittsburgh just found another franchise quarterback to run the show.     

ADF Prediction: Very good potential, high ceiling.

Round 3 – Pick 28 (92)

Chuks Okorafor (OL)

Seemingly the Steelers have had protection issues on the offensive line to where Big-Ben has to maneuver his way around rushing defenders buying time to create plays. Adding Chuks Okorafor to help provide depth to the tackle position is a definite step in the right direction. This man is simply a beast standing 6’6” tall coming in at 320 pounds while running a 4.8 20 yard shuttle is very impressive for a big man. The appeal here for those depth purposes is that Chuks can man both the right and the left side of the line allowing the Steelers to become more versatile if injuries do occur. Many scouts aren’t impressed with some of the tape out there on Okorafor, but ADF sees a very good player in need of better coaching to round out his overall game. Chuks does play with solid nimble feet and has great hand placement at the point of attack. He should be tested early and will get burned on occasion, but should be able to learn from those mistakes being the intelligent player he is.  

ADF Prediction: Moderate/low potential.

Round 5 – Pick 11 (148)

Marcus Allen (DB)

Adding more bruiser types to a defense that is known to dish out punishment, the Steelers selected a player in Marcus Allen that can definitely bring the pain. Allen has fantastic size to play the safety position and it seems like Pittsburgh is somewhat doubling down on having more players that can help in run support now that they will be without Ryan Shazier for the entire season. Once Ryan was lost to injury (last season) the Steelers looked to struggle terribly in stopping the run without their captain manning the middle of the field. Allen could absolutely help in that regard as he is a pure hitting machine finding ball carriers racking up tackles and making plays. His red flags do come in the passing game where he could be seen as a liability at times. ADF could envision a situation where Marcus could find playing time in sub packages assisting the run defense and blitzing schemes.   

Round 5 – Pick 28 (165)

Jaylen Samuels (RB)

Trying to help ease a potential transition in the future with a scenario that could see LeVeon Bell not a member of the Steelers, Pittsburgh drafted the multi-purposed runner from North Carolina State. Samuels has very good size desired for a NFL running back while posting decent speed clocking in at 4.54 on his 40 time. Jaylen does have good strength to go along with a very good skillset that can make him a game changer with the ball in his hands. In reviewing his tape, there really isn’t anything this man can’t do. In terms of production he does have similar appeal that of LeVeon Bell. He can run between the tackles, take runs outside, has very good side-step ability, and is a complete pass catcher out of the backfield, sounding familiar? We aren’t suggesting that Samuels is the next coming of Bell, but it bods extremely well  for the Steelers that a similar skillset will be on the roster if Bell happens to get injured, thus not having to change the offensive game plan all that much. Jaylen should take a role from day one as a change of pace for Bell while potentially seeing both lined up behind Big-Ben to create fantastic miss-matches all over the field. ADF really likes the fit and the potential that Samuels will bring to Pittsburgh.  

Round 7 – Pick 28 (246)

Joshua Frazier (DT)

Rounding out the Steelers draft class, they selected more depth for their strong defense with defensive tackle Joshua Frazier formally of the Crimson Tide. This pick screams of future implications with the potential to find a role early as a situational player rotating to give the starters a breather. Frazier does have appeal as a run stuffer with the size to clog holes halting opposing running backs from getting to the second level. Joshua will have a lot of work to do to get up to NFL speed, but he’ll surly be nursed along with low expectations to start his career.    

2018 Undrafted Free Agent Signings

Greg Gilmore, NT, LSU

Jarvion Franklin, RB, Western Michigan

Parker Cothren, DT, Penn State

Quadree Henderson, WR, Pitt

Trey Johnson, CB, Villanova

Pharoah McKever, TE, North Carolina State

Patrick Morris, C, TCU

Ikenna Nwokeji, OL, Elon

Olasunkanmi Adeniyi, LB, Toledo

Chris Schleuger, OL, UAB

Jamar Summers, CB, Connecticut

Matthew Thomas, LB, Florida State

Kendal Vickers, DE, Tennessee