Biggest winners from the 2023 NFL Draft

2023 NFL Draft - Rounds 2-3

Pittsburgh Steelers

Thinking of a team that every single time they were on the clock selected a prospect I had higher on my personal board, I think the Steelers absolutely aced their draft. The one name where it wasn’t an actual surplus but rather right in line with my rankings was the first one.

However, with the top three offensive tackles off the board already, they did what I projected them to in my final mock draft and moved up – not four spots as I thought, but rather three – in exchange for a fourth-round pick (120th overall) with the Patriots and sniped the Jets a spot later, who everybody projected to go O-line.

The Gang Green brass vehemently denies that they were locked in on that position, but I certainly think that’s the case. So Pittsburgh recognized that they needed to make this move, and were probably helped out gladly by New England, allowing them to move in front of their AFC East rivals and get a pro-ready right tackle, after which I saw a significant drop-off.

From Day 2 on, however, is when they really started to add value. Having the very first pick in the second round, they received several calls about teams wanting to move up, but instead stuck there and selected the guy many projected them to target at 17th overall due to his dad being a cornerstone player for that defense in the past.

Another big position of need was covered with Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. – a super-long, talented corner, who will be a great fit with his ability to squeeze down passing downs in Pittsburgh’s zone-heavy scheme and gives them some versatility to play press-man into the boundary, if you have a safety clouding over the top.

Wisconsin interior D-lineman Keeanu Benton (49th overall) has the ability to actually turn himself into a Cam Heyward-esque player and now gets to learn from the man himself. Georgia tight-end Darnell Washington (93rd) received some first-round buzz at times thanks to his profile to turn into a dominant blocker, his massive frame and the speed he can move at for being 265 pounds, to rumble through defenses.

With their three picks on Day 3, they took advantage of another undersized outside linebacker from Wisconsin, falling to Nick Herbig (132nd overall), who shows very active hands and understands how to finish his rushes, now getting him paired up with a fellow Badger in T.J. Watt. Purdue cornerback Corey Trice (241st) was on the top-100 board for many draft analysts with tremendous length and athletic tools, along with already being an excellent tackler.

And finally, they take a stab at a physically talented offensive lineman in Maryland’s Spencer Anderson (251st) with starting experience at guard, center and tackle.