Steelers encounter NFL Draft class loaded with receivers, corners but lacking at other spots

For the first time in NFL history, quarterbacks could be drafted with the first four picks. Six could be selected in the first round.

Wide receivers could be taken at a historical rate, too. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently had as many 12 listed among his top 50 overall prospects.

Same goes for those tasked with covering the pass catchers. Seven cornerbacks were listed in Jeremiah’s latest top 50. Judging by those numbers, half of the 50 best college players entering the draft, which begins Thursday night with the first round, play one of those three positions.

Mike Tomlin isn’t surprised by that development.

The Pittsburgh Steelers coach has seen a trend shifting in that direction in recent years thanks to the growth of 7-on-7 football during the offseason months.

“These kids are working on their skills over the course of a 12-month calendar,” Tomlin said last month at the NFL annual meeting. “They’re traveling during the spring and summer getting exposure to other talented kids. They are taking away the mystery component of their development. I just think we’re seeing more ready-made guys in the passing game, whether it’s receivers, corners or quarterback. That has been significant in terms of their development and readiness.”

All three positions, to varying degrees, were priorities for the Steelers entering the offseason. Quarterback was addressed in free agency when the Steelers signed Russell Wilson before trading Kenny Pickett to Philadelphia and then acquiring Justin Fields from Chicago.

The Steelers traded away their most experienced wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, to Carolina in return for veteran corner Donte Jackson. Although the Steelers found a corner to start opposite Joey Porter Jr., they lack a nickel corner and have little depth at the position.

As for wide receiver, the Steelers were expected to address it in the draft even before the Johnson trade left a void behind No. 1 threat George Pickens.

“There is a lot of depth at wide receiver,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said. “You just have to figure where the tiers are.”

Such are the numbers that the Steelers can address needs at right tackle, center and perhaps the defensive line while waiting to see what unfolds at receiver and cornerback. After the first round, the Steelers hold the No. 51 overall pick and have two more in the third round, giving them four of the first 98 selections.

The Steelers also have one pick in the fourth round, none in the fifth, two in the sixth and none in the seventh.

Tomlin said this week he is “comfortable with the trajectory” of the wide receiver group after the Steelers added Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins after the initial wave of free agency subsided.

“There’s a lot of talent available to us, and a lot of those guys participate,” he said.

Tomlin used Los Angeles Rams rookie Puka Nacua as an example. Selected in the fifth round last season, Nacua was the eighth player drafted by the Rams, who had an abundance of mid-round picks. All Nacua did was catch 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns while becoming a second-team All-Pro selection.

“That’s what is going on at the position,” Tomlin said. “It makes us all comfortable, not just us but us as a collective — the National Football League.”

Other positions of strength this year can be found at tackle and the interior of the offensive line. That can be attributed to some players taking advantage of the extra sixth season granted because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The lure of NIL money also has caused players to remain in school for another year rather than risk being a mid-to-late round draft pick. This year, 58 underclassmen declared for the draft, the lowest number since 2011. Three years ago, a record 130 underclassmen declared for the draft.

“There are so many fewer underclassmen jumping into this draft class, which I think is a good thing development-wise, but we’ll get to see how that plays out over the next couple of years,” former Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik said.

This draft class, conversely, isn’t as deep at positions such as running back, tight end, safety, inside linebacker and interior defensive lineman. For instance, Jeremiah’s top 50 list included no running backs or safeties and no tight end beyond Georgia star Brock Bowers.

“Somewhere in the mid-third round is where it becomes a little more dicey (for prospects),” Dominik said. “When you’re in the middle of the third, which is around pick 75-80, I think that’s where the board is really going to start changing everywhere you go.”