MOBILE, Ala. -- Coming into Senior Bowl week, we had a clear picture of what the Steelers need to address this offseason, whether that's through free agency or the draft.
And, after just three days of practice, we now have a better grasp on how the Steelers can use the latter to improve the team in 2023.
Cornerback is one of the deepest positions in this year's draft class. With the Steelers slotting in at No. 17 overall in the first round, that's essentially the sweet spot for a first-round cornerback. Any one of Oregon's Christian Gonzalez, Illinois' Devon Witherspoon, South Carolina's Cam Smith or Penn State's Joey Porter Jr. could be available when the Steelers are on the clock during Day 1 of April's draft.
Cornerback is a position of need for this team, especially if the Steelers can't find a way to re-sign Cam Sutton in free agency. That would be a significant loss for a position that's even a need if he does re-sign.
But, this week taught us that perhaps the first round shouldn't be cornerback or bust in the first round. On top of Alabama's Eli Ricks and Georgia's Kelee Ringo, who currently slot in as second-round projections, the cornerback group in Mobile turned quite a few heads this week. This was highlighted by the play of Stanford's Kyu Blu Kelly, who was named the National team's CB Practice Player-of-Week by his peers in the wide receiver group.
"Each day I got better," Kelly told me Thursday. "I was getting my feet wet the first day. I hadn't played football since Nov. 25. It was just getting my feet wet, coming back into myself. But, every day was just forgetting the day before. Just come out and stack a day. Stack days in front of the coaches and GMs was my plan."
However, Kelly wasn't the only one that made an impression. Miami's Tyrique Stephenson had a very solid week, despite getting a little nicked up and having to leave the field during Wednesday's practice. Stephenson is ranked higher than Kelly on multiple draft outlets' big boards, and did more than enough this week to display the athleticism and physicality that makes him a projected mid-third-round pick -- right when the Steelers will be picking.
Other names such as Illinois' Jartavius Martin, Maryland's Jakorian Bennett and Iowa's Riley Moss all contributed to a National team group that consistently won more battles than they lost throughout the week. And, with Steelers' secondary coach Grady Brown serving as their defensive coordinator, they all got a little taste of what it would be like working in Pittsburgh.
"It's been fun," Martin told me Wednesday. "Just listening and learning from the NFL coaches. Just taking everything in. Just taking every little detail and piece of information that they're giving us. He's coaching me up after every rep during 1-on-1s. He's just there every play. I'm, thankful for that."
Overall, this week really helped confirm the belief that the cornerback position is as deep as many people thought. That gives the Steelers some flexibility with how they construct their big board, and perhaps a bit more confident to address other positions of need earlier in the draft knowing there is quality depth that can be options in the second, third or fourth round.
That's actually a perfect segue into the next two positions that need to be highlighted from this week -- offensive and defensive line.
A little tip for those who enjoy watching practice during training camp in Latrobe: Follow Mike Tomlin around. Typically, if it's important to the head coach, it's important for the team. That's something I started doing early on in training camp last summer, and it helped me get a more accurate reading of the pulse of the team.
I say all of that to point out that the vast majority of Tomlin's two days on the field were spent with intense focus on the offensive and defensive lines. And, in typical Tomlin fashion, he wasn't watching from a distance. He was close enough to the action where some might fear for his safety. He's a football junkie. That goes without saying. But, for him to spend that kind of time focusing on the trenches, that says everything you need to know about what positions might be the team's priority come draft time.
To put this in further context, in his meeting with reporters just a couple of weeks ago, Art Rooney II stressed how much he believed the running game was a key reason for the offense's improvement down the stretch. That, in turn, was ultimately the catalyst that kept Matt Canada employed for the third and final year of his contract. So, beefing up the offensive line should only do more for the running game.
Tennessee's Darnell Wright is going to be a name that's tied to the Steelers throughout the spring. Wright's currently projected to be selected in the earlier stages of the second round. But, after being voted the American team's OL Practice Player-of-Week by his peers in the defensive line and linebacker group, it wouldn't be the most shocking development if he snuck into the latter stages of the first round.
The biggest concern with Wright, in regards to his fit with the Steelers, is that he profiles more as a right tackle. The Steelers currently have Chukwuma Okorafor under contract for another two seasons, and Dan Moore left tackle is a larger concern for Pittsburgh. Wright played three of his four seasons with the Volunteers at right tackle. His only season at left tackle was during his junior year, and he gave up 13 QB hurries, one QB hit and three sacks in 13 games. In his senior year, Wright turned in a far better performance switching back to right tackle, allowing only five QB hurries, two QB hits, and no sacks in 12 games.
"It's definitely different," Wright said this week of the switch back and forth between both sides. "But, as long as you have a little bit of time to adjust to it, it goes pretty smoothly. Trying to do it on the fly can be a little bit challenging. But ... I think coaches want to see versatility in any player. As you know, there's only 53 men on the roster. You have to have versatility on the O-line."
That mentality might just be enough for the Steelers to be sold on Wright. And, as previously mentioned, Tomlin got a front row seat to how he handled every stage of practice. And, what people like Tomlin want to see are how players bounce back after losing a rep. According to Wright, his interactions with Tomlin during practice were only positive.
"It was cool watching him enjoy some O-line play," Wright told me. "He showed a lot of love. It was pretty enjoyable."
North Dakota State's Cody Mauch was another standout this week, even while handling the transition from exclusively playing tackle in college to guard and center during practices this week. From everything I saw and heard, Mauch has enough tools to be coached up to have success on the interior of the offensive line, and that his drive during practice was what really stood out.
"I think I'm a smart player," Mauch told me Wednesday morning. "I can pick up a playbook pretty well. But also, not even looking at what scheme I could fit because I could fit into a gap scheme or a zone scheme. If you have the mentality of just finishing all the time, I think it's going to pay off for any team."
At the same time, Mauch's peers in the defensive line and linebacker groups on the National team voted him the OL Player-of-Week, so his actual performance left an impression too. Of course, the interior of the line isn't as high of a priority for the Steelers, but adding any quality to the line can only be a good thing.
In addition to these two, Florida's O'Cyrus Torrence showed everyone this week why he's thought to be the best guard in the draft. Syracuse's Matthew Bergeron, BYU's Blake Freeland and Ohio State's Dawand Jones all emerged as solid options at tackle for the second night of the draft, though Bergeron did take some reps at guard. Regardless, there are plenty of options up front throughout the first two nights of the draft to improve the offensive line.
Defensive line is intriguing in its own way. Versatility is the key here, and that's best exemplified by two standouts from practices.
At 6-3 and 312 pounds, Wisconsin's Keeanu Benton is a prototypical nose tackle, which come more and more at a premium in today's NFL. His ability to eat space in run defense was on display all week, but his quickness and first step during pass rush drills made him even more interesting.
Heading into the week, Benton was ranked 70th of PFF's big board, but I have every reason to believe he'll go much earlier than that. The Steelers definitely have Benton on their radar, and based on what I saw and heard this week, it really wouldn't surprise me if they selected him with their second pick in the second round, especially if they believe he's more than just a space eater in the middle of the defense.
Georgia Tech edge rusher Keion White is another name to watch for, but perhaps earlier in the draft. No, the Steelers don't need an edge rusher. But, White has great size at 6-5 and 280 pounds. That's about the same size as DeMarvin Leal, who's 6-4 and 290 pounds.
The Steelers could potentially draft White and have the intention of playing him at defensive end when they deploy their base 3-4 defense, and maybe even as one of the two down linemen every now and then in their sub-packages. White told me he's more than confident with versatility. In fact, he embraces it.
"That's what I've showcased throughout my career," White told me Wednesday morning. "I feel like I've always shown I can be adaptable and learn new schemes."
White had such a good week, displaying perhaps the most amount of consistency among this group, that he may even sneak into Day 1 of the draft. If his name isn't called during the first round, the Steelers may have to jump on him with the first pick in the second round.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With most of the focus on the trenches and cornerback, I still really like the depth at inside linebacker here as well. Outside of Clemson's Trenton Simpson, I don't believe there are any immediate starters.
However, there is enough potential among names such as Washington State's Daiyan Henley, Texas' DeMarvion Overshown and Tulane's Dorian Williams, who all lived up to the pedigree of being second- or third-round projections. However, Cincinnati's Ivan Pace Jr. might be the highest riser in the group, as he was relentless rep after rep after rep.
But, we knew going into the week that the Steelers needed to address the trenches and cornerback in the draft. Those were perhaps the highest collective priorities in the draft, especially if inside linebacker is addressed through free agency.
From everything I gathered this week, I'm no longer convinced that cornerback is the immediate choice in the first round. I really believe the Steelers could attack a thinner position in the first round and utilize the middle rounds to address cornerback. Or, if they really wanted to go for broke and solidify the position, they can take one of the first-round guys then take a Kelly or a Martin in the fourth round.
But, with all of the attention the Steelers had on the trenches, it wouldn't surprise me if two of the three picks in the top 50 focused in that area of the field. The Steelers want to get even better at running the ball, and they know they have to be strong up front to do everything they want to do on defense.
There's a lot still to play out this spring with the Combine and pro days still on the docket. But, as we stand right now, a lot of the standouts play positions of need for the Steelers, and that's probably the best news for this team.
