Which Steelers rookies will see the field first?

The Steelers had another well-received draft in 2024. However, its true value will be measured in how many quality snaps the selected players can give Pittsburgh over their careers.

With the admission that this is a speculative exercise, let’s rank each 2024 Steelers draft pick by how much playing time they’ll see this season. Pittsburgh looks to get several long-term starters and rotational players from their 2024 haul.

1. C Zach Frazier

I wasn’t as huge of a fan of the West Virginia center’s film as a number of fans and analysts, but the one thing we can all agree on is just how pro-ready Frazier is as a prospect. He’s tough and technically sound with an incredibly high floor — the type of player who will go on to enjoy a long career starting in the NFL.

That’s good news for the Steelers, who drafted Frazier without another starting-caliber center on the roster. As long as he’s healthy, expect Frazier to be the Steelers’ Week 1 starter at the position.

2. WR Roman Wilson

Wilson may be a rookie, but he’s already the clear-cut WR2 on the Steelers roster, and he’ll be an even stronger WR3 if Pittsburgh adds a starting-caliber pass-catcher between now and the regular season.

We’ve seen it doesn’t take long for rookie receivers to acclimate to the pros, and Wilson is already coming from a sophisticated college program in Michigan. Expect him to start off his career well behind George Pickens in terms of targets, but he seems poised to leapfrog Calvin Austin III, Van Jefferson, and Quez Watkins on the depth chart before Week 1.

3. OT Troy Fautanu

Despite being a higher pick than Fautanu was in the first round, Broderick Jones didn’t start until Week 5 as a rookie in 2023. And per Mike Tomlin, the reason was more behavioral than performance-based.

There’s every reason to expect Fautanu to start at some point in 2024, but it’s still highly likely that the Steelers start off the season with Dan Moore over him for the first few weeks unless Fautanu shows something really special in the preseason. Having Moore on the roster allows the Steelers to not rush Fautanu’s development, something they’ll definitely take advantage of if recent history is any indicator.

4. LB Payton Wilson

My bold prediction for 2024 is that Wilson will start off the season seeing more snaps than Fautanu. Defenses are simply more rotational than offensive lines, and I expect Wilson to be cycling in and out early on, as his athleticism will be a valuable asset in certain matchups. However, Fautanu will probably out-snap him by the end of the season.

Wilson will likely see consistent playing time all year, but he’ll start off as the low man on the totem pole in a strong four-man rotation (assuming Cole Holcomb is healthy) and not see heavy snap counts barring injuries to the players ahead of him. Wilson is a very good prospect and a likely steal, but let’s not act like he’ll be outplaying the duo of Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts as a rookie.

5. DB Ryan Watts

Watts fell to the seventh round as an uninspiring cornerback prospect, but he has the tools to be an intriguing name to watch at safety. Maybe even at gunner. The Steelers lost both of their starting gunners, Miles Boykin and James Pierre, in free agency this offseason, opening up a special teams spot on the roster to a bubble player like Watts. The Texas product has the aggressive play style to succeed in the role. He could be securing a number of special teams snaps very early in the season.

Beyond that, did you see how many secondary players the Steelers rotated through last season? If Watts develops at all, he could see some actual reps on defense at some point as well. Ideally, it’d be through his own merit and not the injuries of other defensive backs.

6. IOL Mason McCormick

McCormick’s low spot here reflects how I’m not predicting any significant injuries to the Steelers’ starting trio of interior offensive linemen Isaac Seumalo, James Daniels, or Zach Frazier this season. However, in the off chance that does happen, there’s a high likelihood that the versatile McCormick could be backing up all three spots, leaving him a window to enter the starting lineup in 2024.

Still, at this point in the offseason, McCormick feels like a pick the Steelers made with the future in mind. It’s unlikely he’s seen as an immediate contributor for Pittsburgh in 2024.

7. DL Logan Lee

The sixth-round pick enters a crowded depth chart on the Steelers defensive line. He’ll be competing with players like DeMarvin Leal, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Breiden Fehoko, Dean Lowry, Jonathan Marshall, and Montravius Adams for not just playing time, but a roster spot.

Barring injury, Lee’s inexperience (not just as an NFL player, he’s a converted college tight end) means he’ll likely land on the practice squad his rookie season unless he really impresses in the offseason. Until we see him in pads, that can’t be ruled out.

Steelers news and commentary from Tuesday, May 7th

Welcome to the Terrible Towel Tales, where we’ll highlight some of the latest stories permeating Steelers media for your reading pleasure every Monday through Saturday. In today’s news…

Should the Steelers trade RB Najee Harris? | Curt Popejoy

There have been some rumblings that the Steelers might consider trading Harris and handing over the feature-back role to Jaylen Warren. Truth be told, this could happen even if Harris isn’t traded.

Harris is the only running back in the NFL to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last three seasons and has been consistent and dependable.

Steelers rookie Roman Wilson already drawing comparisons to Hines Ward | Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports

It’s never a bad thing to be compared to Hines Ward, a fearless, physical receiver who parlayed his unique skill set into a Hall of Fame career (he isn’t in yet, but that’s for another day). Roman Wilson, the former Michigan standout, was compared to Pittsburgh’s legendary receiver shortly after the Steelers drafted him.

“In the third round, the Steelers grabbed two players who harken back to the great Hines Ward,” wrote Jim Wexell, the founder of Steel City Insider and a Steelers beat reporter since 1995. “In WR Roman Wilson, the Steelers got a starter with inside/outside capability and 4.39 40 speed. They also got a relentless team player and blocker, and a player with a huge chip on his shoulder for being drafted so late. Just like Ward.

Broncos Radio Host Blasts ‘Stupid’ Narrative of Steelers QB | Stephen Thompson, All Steelers

CBS Sports NFL Insider Aditi Kinkhabwala claimed that Wilson struggled to pick up Payton’s offense and that the calls had to be reduced to two-word phrases. But back in Denver, a set of radio hosts pulled no punches and defended the Steelers’ newest starting quarterback from claims that the offense had to be dumbed down for him in Denver.

“The idea that Russell Wilson can’t get verbose play calls is frankly stupid,” Ryan Edwards, Benjamin Albright and Grant Smith said on Broncos Country Tonight. “Russell Wilson had his best season under Brian Schottenheimer, who has famously long, verbose play calls.”

Another running back to keep an eye on this preseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers are inviting Jonathan Ward to their rookie mini-camp, per Aaron Wilson.

Ward spent last season with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, where he only totaled eight carries and two receptions on the season.

Ward came into the NFL in 2020 undrafted out of Central Michigan, where he was a standout back. In 2019, he averaged over six yards per carry while totaling over 1,100 yards on the ground with 15 touchdowns. In 2017, he had a 1,000 yard season, as well, with 10 touchdowns. The 26-year old was with the Cardinals from 2020-22 before being cut by Arizona and getting picked up by the Titans.

Pittsburgh has been in the news for other running back news over the last week after they declined Najee Harris’ fifth-year option. Ward will just be another name at the position to watch through the offseason and preseason cycle alongside undrafted free agent Daijun Edwards out of Georgia.

Another receiver off the board

The Pittsburgh Steelers were rumored to be in on former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd. However, money seemed to be the big issue that prevented the two sides from coming together on a deal.

The Pittsburgh Steelers then drafted Roman Wilson out of Michigan, which pretty much put an end to any possibility of Boyd coming to Pittsburgh, considering he is a slot receiver and that is the role that Wilson will now fill.

In light of that, Boyd is signing a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Tennessee Titans, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Boyd follows his former offensive coordinator, and current Titans head coach, Brian Callahan who took the Titans job earlier this year after Tennessee moved on from Mike Vrabel.

Boyd is entering his ninth year in the NFL, and is coming off a 67 reception season with the Bengals. He joins a wide receiver group led by Calvin Ridley and DeAndre Hopkins to put together a nice trio for the young Will Levis to distribute to.

The Steelers moved quickly in the wake of the NFL’s new kick return rules being approved. Pittsburgh added Cordarrelle Patterson on a two-year deal, and his return skills played a central role in the team’s interest.

Under the new format, however, teams may line up a pair of returners on a play, so multiple options could be in play for the Steelers. An unlikely scenario – albeit one which appears to be under consideration – could see backup quarterback Justin Fields used as a return man. The idea has been brought up by Pittsburgh special teams coordinator Danny Smith.

“[Smith] was talking about Justin Fields being back there,” running back Jaylen Warren said during an appearance on teammate Cameron Heyward‘s Not Just Football podcast. “We’re like, ‘Hold up, hold up.’ We looked at him like, ‘Justin Fields is about to be back there?’ I don’t know. I think it’s cool” (h/t ESPN’s Brooke Pryor).

Fields is among the most athletic quarterbacks in the NFL, and his rushing ability was on full display during his time with the Bears. One of the goals of the new kickoff alignment was to make the play safer, meaning returners could face a lower injury risk than in years past. Still, using Fields – currently set to operate as Pittsburgh’s backup quarterback, albeit one who is believed to be in the team’s post-2024 plans – on special teams would constitute quite the surprise.

Both Pryor and Mark Kaboly of The Athletic (subscription required) note it is unlikely Fields sees any time as a returner. The 25-year-old will enter his first Pittsburgh training camp aiming to unseat Russell Wilson for the starter’s job, but it will be interesting to see if he is used in any unorthodox capacities as the offseason unfolds.

Going into this year’s draft, guard was arguably the Seahawks’ biggest need. And as ESPN’s Brady Henderson writes, Seattle had targeted Alabama’s JC Latham, who was selected by the Titans with the No. 7 overall pick (the ‘Hawks would have slid Latham, a collegiate tackle, to the interior of their O-line, at least in the early stages of his pro career).

[RELATED: Murphy Signs Rookie Deal]

A number of this year’s top defensive prospects fell lower than expected due to an unprecedented run on offensive talent. When the Seahawks were on the clock with the No. 16 pick, only one defensive player, UCLA edge defender Laiatu Latu, was off the board, and he went to the Colts at No. 15. That left Texas DT Byron Murphy II available for Seattle, whom the team saw as the best defender in the 2024 class. The ‘Hawks ultimately turned in the card for the former Longhorn.

As offensive players were flying off the board, the Seahawks — who did not have a second-round choice — were fielding trade offers that would have allowed them to move down the board and pick up additional draft capital in the process. Per Henderson, the ‘Hawks received offers from the Steelers, Eagles, Vikings, and Falcons (who were trying to trade back into the first round after surprisingly drafting QB Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 choice). The Packers were also interested in acquiring Seattle’s No. 16 selection, but Green Bay ultimately did not make an offer.

With Murphy still available but with Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Dre’Mont Jones, Johnathan Hankins, and several recent draftees already on the roster, GM John Schneider was tempted to trade back. However, Seattle is not in rebuild mode, and Schneider felt that Murphy was too good to pass up.

“I’d be lying to you if I said we didn’t think about [trading back],” Schneider said. “But [Murphy], he was just too good. He influences the game, like a lot. He’s got that ability to jump off the ball and get up field. He can play edges, he can play square, he can rush the passer inside, he gets up and down the line of scrimmage.”

New head coach Mike Macdonald added, “he just plays our style of football, really. And then he’s so talented. Versatility along the front, such an aggressive player, plays violently, heavy hands for a guy [of] shorter stature, flexible, pass-rush flexibility — you name it. Yeah, just really excited to have him.”

With all of the D-linemen on the roster and the Seahawks’ shortage of cap space — per OverTheCap.com, Seattle is the only team in the red as of the time of this writing — it would be fair to expect the club to deal from its DL surplus. However, Henderson said the team has no such plans, especially since Macdonald intends to rotate his players more frequently than his predecessor, Pete Carroll.

In related news, the team is expected to have outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu back for training camp, per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. Nwosu, who recorded 9.5 sacks in his first Seattle slate in 2022, suffered a pectoral strain in October and missed the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He is under contract through 2026 by virtue of the three-year, $45MM extension he signed in July.