Matt Miller Believes Steelers Will Draft Offensive Line in R1
The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to go out and potentially draft best value in the first round, and that could be offensive tackle.
The Pittsburgh Steelers need offensive line help at center and offensive tackle, so it should be unsurprising that most mock drafts have them going in that direction to secure their next starter on the offensive line, whichever position it may be. And according to Matt Miller, that is what one team source told him.
“What are the Steelers thinking in Round 1? “I can’t tell you the player, but I can tell you it’ll be an offensive lineman,” said one team source. There has been buzz about Pittsburgh adding a wide receiver at No. 20, but the feeling I got in making calls to teams this week is that the Steelers believe they’re an elite team at drafting receiver talent outside the top 32 picks, and history backs that up,” Miller wrote.
The top player there might be Amarius Mims. The Steelers have drafted three former Georgia Bulldogs in the last two drafts — wide receiver George Pickens, offensive tackle Broderick Jones and tight end Darnell Washington. Mims very well could be the next product out of Athens to come to the Steel City. And while it is his personal pro day on Wednesday, Mims is viewed as a potential long-term starter at right tackle by Dane Brugler in his new draft guide, the Beast.
The 6-foot-7 3/4, 340-pound Mims certainly has the size and athleticism to be an elite offensive tackle. At the combine, Mims ran a 5.07-second 40-yard dash, an impressive time for that size.
But he has significant questions about his experience level and injury history. After sitting behind Broderick Jones and others his first two seasons, playing in just two games as a sophomore, Mims played only six games due to injury in 2023, before declaring early for the draft.
Others factor into the equation like JC Latham, Taliese Fuaga, Troy Fautanu, and others that could fit that mold, too. And of course, the center prospects in Jackson Powers-Johnson and Graham Barton must be considered there.