3 sleepers Steelers drafted who could become stars

The reigning AFC North champions addressed a number of needs in the draft and may have found a few promising performers in the late rounds.

The club won its first 11 games this past season. But you could already see the flaws in Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers. The offence was one-dimensional as veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dropped back at an alarming rate. The defense was limited by injuries – most notably to its linebacking corps – and the lack of a ground game was puzzling.

Eventually, all of these factors caught up with Tomlin’s team, culminating with an embarrassing home loss to the rival Browns in the wild card playoffs. By January, this did not feel like a team that had won a division title. So it’s been an offseason of changes for the organization, although Roethlisberger returns for an 18th season.

The Steelers just selected nine players in this year’s draft. But which three could prove to make surprising impacts?

3 Steelers draft picks who are sleepers

3. P Pressley Harvin (Georgia Tech)

Pittsburgh’s special teams were adequate this past season but there is certainly room for improvement. Steelers’ punter Jordan Berry finished 15th in the league in gross punting average (45.8) and the team and the club ranked 24th in the NFL in punt return average allowed (10.0).

Enter Georgia Tech’s Pressley Harvin with the 254th-overall selection. Why waste a selection on a kicker of any sort? The Ray Guy Award winner for 2020 had an impressive net average of 44.8 yards.