As it stands, the Pittsburgh Steelers have multiple needs and avenues they could go in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but the offensive line feels like the place most likely to be the pick with the interest they have shown. And on Thursday, they hosted another top tackle, with Tyler Guyton coming to Pittsburgh.
And that could make him a sleeper pick. Maybe not at 20th overall since that seems a bit rich for where his stock will be, but in a trade-back scenario, the puzzle pieces all fit together.
Guyton took a path that many offensive linemen take. He switched from the defensive side of the ball to offensive tackle. Now, he specializes in playing right tackle, but he feels like he can play on both sides.
Coming into the Senior Bowl, all of the talk about Guyton was his potential, but the lack of tape led to some questions, and now some of them were answered here in Mobile, but I think that Guyton going in the first round is likely, even if he is a flawed player as it stands.
Let’s start with the negatives. For one, his hang usage and placement are all over the place. Guyton gets wide with his hands and, at times, can get caught bending over, thus stopping his feet and allowing rushers to get past him. But his feet are sweet and smooth. Man, he gets deep into his sets and looks fluid.
Guyton is not a perfect player. On some of the reps he did win, Guyton’s hands got wide, and that could leave him open to getting bullrushed or called for holding. But he has a fiery intensity to his game and the athleticism is there. I think he helped his stock tremendously and looks like a starter.
But those athletic tools give him a floor to meet whenever he goes out on the field. And as a run blocker, he has to eliminate some tendencies, such as playing with a high pad level, allowing edge rushers to scrape across his face. Of those top tackles, he is the rawest with many questions, but the athletic tools and ceiling that come with Guyton are special. And that is why he is rising up boards so quickly when he shows baseline traits that give him a better-than-expected floor. He gave more people a reason to take the risk.
Guyton is not a bad fit with the Steelers whatsoever. In fact, he makes a good deal of sense. First, he plays right tackle, which is his natural position and could kick Broderick Jones back over to left tackle. That’s an ideal outcome for Pittsburgh when looking at these tackles. But more than that, his athleticism will allow him to get out in space and reach linebackers in those wide zone schemes.
No matter what happens, his struggles in pass-protection skills present somewhat of a problem, considering Jones is already someone who is greener on that side. But like Jones, his athleticism gives you a spectacular benchmark to see where the upside is, and Arthur Smith’s scheme will reward that with how much his lineman are built on speed off the ball, physicality, and athleticism, all things that Guyton has to bring to the table to them.