The Steelers need to make sure that they leave this draft with some young depth at the defensive end position — a nice project that they can start to prepare to step in when necessary.
Khalid Kareem fits that bill for Pittsburgh. Kareem is a 6-foot-4 rusher who plays a little longer than that. Pittsburgh will want him to bulk up and play on the line — he’s not fast enough and doesn’t have coverage skills to play the outside linebacker position.
But as a bulked-up edge rusher on the defensive line, he’s an outstanding option. He’s a good run setter who can make plays when tasked with blitzing and make space for linebackers to stop outside rushing plays.
He’s a little green and will take some time to develop, but he’s a great project and a solid pick for the fourth round.
Even after signing the two-time Super Bowl champion Wisniewski, the Steelers need to do more to shore up their interior offensive line. With a pedigree like his, Pittsburgh should be confident that it’s getting a professional who knows the demands of the NFL grind. His dad, after all, was a Pro Bowl right tackle for the Eagles among other teams in a 14-year NFL career.
Runyan is big for a guard at 6-foot-4 and 306 pounds, but he’s also very agile with exceptional footwork. His 40-yard dash time was 5.08, proving he has the speed to pull and get out in front on sweep type running plays.
Of Runyan, NFL.com says: “Determined and smart, Runyan held his own as a Big Ten tackle despite a lack of desired physical and athletic traits…[he] stays after it and recovers back into the second phase of the block…[he] should improve as he slides inside to guard. He has adequate athleticism and body control to fit into a variety of run schemes…protection experience at tackle improves his draft value as a later-round, backup-caliber guard.”