The Pittsburgh Steelers are back to the drawing board after another early postseason exit. The thing about the drawing board, however, is that you can't keep drawing the same picture year in and year out, then expecting different results.
Matt Canada's offense was a scourge on the city of Pittsburgh for years. Mike Tomlin finally canned him and handed play-calling duties to... Arthur Smith, a notoriously conservative play-caller who fell flat in Atlanta because he couldn't optimize the considerable talent at his disposal.
The Steelers began the 2024 season 10-3, only to lose five straight down the stretch because Smith wouldn't loosen his grip on Russell Wilson. Pittsburgh has a subpar offensive line, a broken passing attack, and no immediate answer to the quarterback conundrum. Something has to change.
So, naturally, the latest NFL mock draft from Daniel Jeremiah has the Steelers selecting a running back. Ashton Jeanty of Boise State, to be specific, with the 21st overall pick. Here's his explanation:
"The Steelers spent the past two drafts beefing up their offensive line. Now they land a top-five player in the class to run behind it."
This is absolutely a believable outcome, but therein lies the problem. Pittsburgh fell into this exact trap with Najee Harris, and now threaten to do it again with Jeanty. The Steelers cannot draft a running back in the first round and expect positive results.
Steelers could stumble into Najee Harris trap with Ashton Jeanty in NFL Draft
Harris has oscillated between great and pretty good during his tenure with the Steelers. He ran for 1,200 yards as a rookie and looked the part of a burgeoning star, only to watch his production steadily decrease with each subsequent season.
In Jeanty, the Steelers would be drafting the most electric runner to enter the league in quite some time. He's incredible, no doubt about it. The Boise State phenom finished runner-up in Heisman voting, racking up 2,739 yards from scrimmage and 30 touchdowns. Those are categorically absurd numbers. He's explosive between the tackles, elusive out in space, and virtually impossible to bring down on the first attempt. Nobody in the NFL bounces off tackles quite like Jeanty.
He would undoubtedly produce in Pittsburgh, but one first has to think about why the Steelers would draft Jeanty. It's because Harris, their last first-round pick at running back, is a free agent. Pittsburgh does not want him back, at least not at his current price tag. The value of running backs has been on the decline for years, and unless you're Saquon Barkley running behind the NFL's best O-line, it's difficult to shake that trend.
Pittsburgh has, as Jeremiah points out, used two straight first-round picks on the offensive line. The issue? Those picks haven't actually panned out. There is zero faith in Broderick Jones in Pittsburgh. The offensive line was a mess all season, leading to countless pressures and mishaps from Russell Wilson down the stretch. It also made life extremely difficult on Harris in the backfield. Jeanty would be running behind a bottom-tier offensive line, with a probably mediocre quarterback and a highly limited passing game.
Need we also remind folks of how Bijan Robinson looked before Arthur Smith versus after Arthur Smith in Atlanta? Smith loves to run the football and balance the playbook, but he refuses to lean on his stars. Pittsburgh would find a way to shoehorn in 10 touches a game for Cordarrelle Patterson, much to the chagrin of Steelers fans.
The Steelers either need to draft a good offensive lineman or boost the WR room. Hell, take a stab at cornerback or something. Just don't draft another first-round running back who is bound to depreciate in value over time and leave after his rookie contract expires.