Rookie Progress Report for the Steelers
With the Pittsburgh Steelers on their bye, it feels appropriate to check in on their 2023 rookie class. After the conclusion of draft weekend, general manager Omar Khan received rave reviews for his first haul as the head man in charge. Some of them are receiving more playing time than others due to various different factors, but this group has already paid dividends early on. With five weeks in the books, we have a small sample size from these players to analyze what they’ve been able to accomplish so far and what the future potentially holds for them down the line.
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Broderick Jones
In his first order of business on draft weekend, Khan moved up in the first round to select his franchise left tackle Broderick Jones. Despite not being handed the job immediately, Pittsburgh played it smart by giving him a heavy workload through the preseason. In week four against the Texans, Jones was abruptly thrust into action due to injury, and the results were a bit of a mixed bag as you’d reasonably expect. However, in his first career start on Sunday, Jones was outstanding and played well above expectations by allowing just one pressure in pass pro and delivering a couple of eye-popping run blocks. It was only a matter of time before he was Kenny Pickett’s blindside protector, but the Steelers would be wise to set that plan into motion immediately and allow him to continue learning on the job.
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Steelers Named Landing Spot for Explosive Wide Receiver
The trade deadline is about two weeks away, and since the Steelers are 3-2 and in the thick of the AFC North, a trade is always possible to boost the team. For example, the team could use help in their secondary, but one pundit believes they could add to the wide receiver room.
The New York Jets do not seem keen on playing Mecole Hardman much, and trade rumors have swirled around the speedy receiver over the last few weeks. Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey believes that Hardman could land in Pittsburgh as a compliment to the rest of the receiver room with Diontae Johnson back.
Even if the Steelers don’t end up competing for a playoff spot, this season will be successful if they can come away with clarity at the quarterback spot,” Tansey wrote. “They need to find out if Kenny Pickett is worth the continued investment or if they need to make a move next season. Part of that is giving the quarterback what he needs to succeed. Trading for Mecole Hardman would give Pickett a speedster who can stretch the field across from George Pickens. Diontae Johnson’s potential return in Week 7 gives him a slot specialist who can work underneath and intermediate routes.”
Hardman has speed that could work with Calvin Austin’s explosiveness to create a dynamic horizontal offense. Wide receiver might not be the first position the Steelers would look to add to, as safety or cornerback jump out as far likelier to me. Pittsburgh still has a lot of questions to answer across their team, and while wide receiver depth is not sterling, the Steelers adding one seems unlikely, no matter how much the offense is struggling.
Hardman is not a highly productive player, but if Pittsburgh wanted to embrace the full-on speed effect with the offense, they could add him to the mold over Gunner Olszewski. Johnson and George Pickens will play a significant amount, no matter what. So, Hardman would slide into that complementary role along with Allen Robinson II and Austin to round out the rest of the receiving corps. It would likely not cost much to acquire Hardman at this stage.
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