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Steelers NFL Draft Analysis: Pittsburgh's Best Draft in a Long, Long Time

The Pittsburgh Steelers walked away winners in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Nicholas Martin

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To say the Pittsburgh Steelers won the draft was an understatement. They could've rested on the Nick Herbig pick in the fourth round and would have felt very content with what they accomplished, but they didn't. 

The Steelers did what many hoped they would do and came away with one of the talented cornerbacks who ended up falling into the latter half of Day 3. What did the analysts have to think about their final NFL Draft haul?

Dane Brugler: 79th overall ,LB 5

"A three-year starter at Wisconsin, Herbig was a stand-up edge rusher in former defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s 3-4 base defense. Accounting for more tackles for loss (36.0) than games played (31) in his career, he was a frequent visitor in the opponent’s backfield and led the Badgers in sacks each of the past two seasons. Despite being undersized, Herbig rushes with the intensity and hand strength of a defensive end to skirt blockers both inside and out. He never shuts down his motor in pursuit, but he is an inconsistent edge-setter and NFL teams won’t hesitate to run at him. Overall, Herbig isn’t built to handle multiple gaps or align in closed areas in the NFL, but he has the explosive get-off, hand usage and backfield instincts to pester quarterbacks. While currently not a true every-down NFL player, his impact will be felt as a sub-rusher and offers additional value if he evolves his off-ball skills."

My Analysis: 92nd overall, EDGE 12

Nick Herbig had a ton of connections to the Steelers throughout the draft process, give his older brother Nate was signed in free agency. He also solves a position of need as a third edge rusher along the outside. He shines as a pass rusher, showing a good pass rush plan with his footwork tempo changes and hand usage. Herbig loves the cross-chop, as it's evident all over his film.

Herbig also shows the ability to be a good spot dropper in zone coverage, making him a terrific fit as a 3-4 OLB in the Steelers scheme. Where he struggles is in the run game, where his lack of length and size can get him engulfed at the point of attack. Part of why some believe he might fit better as an off-the-ball linebacker inside is due to that deficiency in his game.

I believe his best fit is more as a 3-4 OLB who rushes the passer situationally while operating more as an emergency depth player along the inside. This pick essentially hits two birds with one stone and is part of why I'm a big fan of it and goes much beyond the brother-to-brother connection.

Dane Brugler: 88th overall, CB 13

"A four-year starter at Purdue, Trice was an outside cornerback in former co-defensive coordinator Ron English’s scheme. After a long road back from his 2021 knee injury, he showed noticeable rust on his 2022 tape but still graded well and posted a team-best 12 passes defended (with only one pass interference flag). An impressive height/weight/speed athlete, Trice passes the eye test with flying colors, and his testing numbers reflect his above-average athletic traits. He is a little bit of a cornerback-safety tweener and needs to play with better pad level for quicker recoveries, but he displays a great feel for reading breaks and flashes GGI (go and-get-it) skills. Overall, Trice might never be a high-level technician, but he has exceptional size, speed and change-of-direction skills to be a disruptive cover man both early and late in the rep. He offers position versatility with starting potential in press-man or Cover 3 schemes."

My Analysis: 48th overall, CB 10

Cory Trice Jr is a taller build for a corner but also offers plenty of length, which helps him be able to disrupt the receiver's routes from a press alignment, as well as being able to get his hand in to break up the pass. What stands out about Trice is his technical refinement from a press alignment, with just terrific mirror stepping and hand placement, almost always landing his punch into the chest.

Trice is an outstanding height, weight, speed athlete who moves like a much smaller corner in terms of his hip fluidity, short area agility and change of direction. He is also a former safety out of high school, which tends to show itself when operating from zone coverage. He shows good eyes and route recognition, along with spacing to bait quarterbacks into a false sense of security.

So why did he fall this far? It is very hard to say, but it most likely has more to do with his injury history (which I did not look into much pre-draft), which includes a torn ACL in the 2021 season, a high ankle sprain and a broken ankle in high school. He also doesn't accelerate to a high-end speed, which might make him a bit susceptible in terms of recovery speed. He can be a bit high in his pedal but still operates functionally from off coverage with his mirror and react ability, while also showing well from a shuffle technique. Definitely has a tendency to get stuck to blocks, but generally tackles well in the run game.

I don't quite understand how he fell this far and it's very rare for me to get excited about a 7th round draft pick, but it's also very rare that the Steelers select one of my favorite prospects in the class this late. Trice reminds me a ton of Martin Emerson Jr from last year's draft class, who was a key rookie contributor for the Cleveland Browns.

It is wise for expectations to be tempered given the draft capital attached, but I genuinely believe that Trice Jr has the ability to be a starting-level corner on the outside for this team in the future, maybe sooner rather than later. 

Spencer Anderson, OL, Maryland

I was unable to find very many respected analysts who have written up anything on Spencer Anderson and I also was unable to get to his film in the process. What I can provide, courteously of Pro Football Focus premium stats, is that Anderson played all over the line for Maryland. Early on his career, he was focused at right tackle, before moving to center and right guard, finishing out his career at guard.

Anderson fits the theme of the Steelers draft class, as he's a plus athlete with a positive Relative Athletic Score and good overall size. Anderson participated in the East-West Shrine game and had some respectable reps during the practice week at his original position of right tackle.

Obviously, there's not much more I can add here on the pick, but I like the versatility and the fact the Steelers picked a good athlete along the offensive line. Adding swing tackle/guard players helps fill out the depth along the line and are always in high demand.

Overall Draft Grade: A+

I have never given the Steelers this high of a post-draft grade ever. This draft on paper is the best I've seen the Steelers have since the 2017 draft, which was the best draft I've seen in the 11-plus years (since 2012) I've tracked the draft. They not only solved many of their needs, they strayed away from reaching in the draft, got terrific value on some key picks and maintained their draft momentum through all 3 days.

Part of why the Steelers have never received this high of a grade is because they tend to slow down toward Day 3 and pass up some of the free-falling values. While Day 3 of the draft very much ends up being the biggest crapshoot, it still matters and can be the difference between a good draft class, versus a great one.

This is a great draft class that brings the nasty back to Pittsburgh along the trenches while offering a much-needed invigoration of talent in the secondary. We shall see how this ages, but on paper, this is an outstanding draft class and is an amazing start to the Omar Khan and Andy Weidl regime.

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Nicholas Martin
NICHOLAS MARTIN

Nicholas has been watching the Steelers his entire life. He has been writing about the Steelers since 2016. Prior to All Steelers, he contributed over at Behind The Steel Curtain.

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