Steelers conclude NFL Draft by loading up on age, experience among college prospects

If it was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ intention to increase the overall team age, mission accomplished in the NFL Draft.

On Saturday’s third day, the Steelers continued a trend that began Thursday when they selected tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round. They collected three more players who, while not quite eligible for AARP status, will be long in the tooth for NFL rookies.

Consider that fourth-round pick Mason McCormick, a guard from South Dakota State, spent six years in college and turns 24 in May. Or that defensive tackle Logan Lee, the team’s first pick in the sixth round, spent five years at Iowa and will be 24 in June. And the Steelers capped the draft later in the sixth by taking Texas cornerback Ryan Watts, who is the youngest member of the seven-man class at 22 years, 5 months.

Age may just be a number, but it was a talking point after the draft.

“We’re looking for guys with talent,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Oftentimes that talent is coupled with experience. It’s good to have a group that is mature as players and as people. That is reflective of the collective.”

Two members of the draft class are married: second-round center Zach Frazier and Lee. All seven spent at least four years on a college campus. Fautanu, Lee and linebacker Payton Wilson, the second of the team’s third-round picks, were in school for five years. McCormick took advantage of the extra year granted by the NCAA because of the coronavirus pandemic after enrolling at South Dakota State in 2018.

None is lacking in experience like 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones, who had 19 college starts before leaving school early.

“We should expect those guys to have a high floor and have a good presentation of what they are capable of early on,” Tomlin said. “For that, we are excited.”

The Steelers entered the draft seeking players at tackle, center and wide receiver. They got that by taking Fautanu, Frazier and Roman Wilson in succession over the first two days. Payton Wilson could compete for playing time at inside linebacker behind Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts.

“We addressed some needs,” general manager Omar Khan said. “But we really got some high-character guys, some players that we think will help us not only this year but in the future.”

To kick off the third day, the Steelers returned to the offensive line by selecting McCormick, who made 57 consecutive starts at left guard for the Division I FCS school over four-plus seasons.

The Steelers have established starters at guard in Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels, and veteran Nate Herbig is an experienced backup. Daniels and Herbig, though, can become free agents after the season.

“We felt it was important to address it if he was there,” Khan said, “and he was.”

The first four rounds of the draft couldn’t have unfolded any better for offensive line coach Pat Meyer, who said “Christmas came early” before addressing the media after the McCormick selection.

In two years, Khan has provided five draft picks for Meyer. Jones and seventh-round pick Spencer Anderson came aboard last year.

“It was a strong offensive line group,” Khan said. “We’ve talked plenty of times about how we feel about the importance of the offensive line. … It just kind of worked out that way for us.”

Khan said he fielded calls about trading up or back in each round that the Steelers had a selection. They had none in the fifth or seventh rounds.

Unlike last year, when he traded up four spots to land Jones in the first round, and then traded back in the third — a move that led to the Nick Herbig pick in the fourth round — Khan resisted the temptation to change his draft positioning.

“When there is a good player there, it’s hard to move away from it,” Khan said.

His patience was rewarded in the third round when the Steelers took Payton Wilson with the No. 98 overall choice. He had been dogged by injuries early in his college career and reportedly doesn’t have an ACL in one of his knees, yet that didn’t prevent him from running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds at the NFL Combine. Wilson also won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and the Bednarik Award as top defensive player.

“I think you could characterize it as surprised,” Tomlin said regarding Wilson’s availability.

After adding depth pieces in the sixth round by adding Lee to the defensive line and Watts at defensive back, Khan and Tomlin each referred to the three-day event as a good weekend.

Tomlin offered his reason for optimism.

“Our general level of excitement when we’re on the clock and the options available to us and the amount of research and information we had on those options creates a really good sense of comfort in the process,” he said.