The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted not one, but two Ohio State Buckeyes on Day 3 of the NFL Draft in Will Howard and Jack Sawyer. The duo is expected to report to rookie camp in just a few days time and contribute right away. However, not everyone was excited with Pittsburgh's selection, especially that of Howard.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. bashed the Steelers for selecting Howard rather than making a greater effort to take Shedeur Sanders, who fell to the fifth round. Howard was eventually selected in the sixth.
"Yet, Pittsburgh added only Will Howard at the position -- in Round 6," he wrote. "He's a backup in the NFL. Instead of getting a quarterback they can win games with right now in Round 1, the Steelers went defensive tackle."
The Steelers weren't the only team to pass on Sanders, of course, as many teams didn't feel comfortable with his work ethic, football IQ and tendency for negative-impact plays. Kiper Jr. had multiple meltdowns on air as Sanders remained on his big board for days. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, believes in what Howard can bring to the QB room. Whether it was misguided to pass on Sanders remains to be seen.
Steelers star Cam Heyward loves what he sees from Jack Sawyer
The Steelers were also able to land outside linebacker Jack Sawyer in the fourth round of the draft. Sawyer's new teammate, Steelers defensive star Cameron Heyward, liked what he saw from Sawyer and believes Pittsburgh's rotation at outside linebacker will be tough to stop.
"I think we were always looking for a third or fourth outside linebacker along with Nick Herbig. So, you know, when you're able to have interchanging between TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, and then bring in a Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer, that's a hell of a rotation. It only creates more havoc on the field. Keeps TJ fresh. Keeps Alex fresh," Heyward said.
Heyward went on to say that Watt does his best work in close games, and he's right in that regard – 80 of Watt's career sacks have come in games decided by seven points or less. If the Steelers are able to better keep Watt fresh, especially late in games with the addition of Sawyer, it'll only serve them better in the long run.
It surely doesn't hurt that Sawyer is an Ohio State Buckeye. Heyward also went to OSU back in the day. Heyward discussed the "similar schemes" between what Sawyer ran in Columbus and Pittsburgh's 3-4 defense.