Possible Day 3 Targets for the Steelers

The Steelers have their first two players on board. With Chase Claypool and Alex Highsmith now officially the Steelers day two picks, wide receiver and outside linebacker can officially be crossed off as needs going forward into day three. However, the Steelers certainly have some needs to get at with four remaining picks on day three. Here are some players that they could target on day three on the NFL Draft.

Safety: K’Von Wallace, Geno Stone, Kenny Robinson, Alohi Gilman

Safety is a need the Steelers will have to address. With limited depth behind Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds, the Steelers will look to get some insurance in case either one of their starting safeties should get injured. They also have a need for a subpackage body in the middle of the field with Mark Barron out.

Out of all the ones listed, Wallace is the best one by far. He is a highly instinctive, athletic safety that will be doing great work in the box and in deep halves of the field in a Cover 2 scheme. Wallace displays some hip tightness but can man guys up in the slot and is a fantastic tackler.

New Castle native Geno Stone is another intriguing option. Unlike Wallace who is more versatile, Stone is going to be pigeonholed into the box due to athleticism concerns laterally. However, his instincts are elite and he has ball skills to go and make some interceptions. Kenny Robinson, former XFL and West Virginia safety, is another guy with a ton of ball skills. There is a lot to like about Robinson as a single-high safety.

Alohi Gilman, on the other hand, is another box guy who does not have ball skills at all. With Gilman it is all hearts and smarts right down to the core of his game. He hits hard, has great click and close, and fits the run as well as anyone in the class.

Offensive Line: John Simpson, Kevin Dotson, Prince Tega Wanogho, Saahdiq Charles

Consider this one another likely route that the Steelers could look at in the fourth-round. With Stefen Wisniewski signed, the Steelers do have some nice depth here but they need another key option to solidify that depth in case of an injury on the interior. They could also look at tackle since it most certainly is a future need after 2020.

Simpson and Dotson are two powerful linemen that will just push guys off their spot and out of their gaps. It is impressive to watch them. Both men have their best trait down as power and hand usage, as they often place it in the middle of the shoulder pads and have violent hands with good grip strength. Looking at both, however, they lack flexibility and are not great movers in space. Simpson is the better of the two athletes and can move well in space, while Dotson does have some labored footwork while trying to reach the second level. Still, they are excellent scheme fits for the Steelers.

Tega Wanogho is a massive offensive tackle with elite length. In addition to that, he has good movement skills and great power at the point of attack. There is no doubt that at this point he is fantastic value and could be a swing tackle as he has experience at both right and left tackle while playing at Auburn.

Charles is an elite athlete at tackle. Simply put, he has smooth footwork and great mobility on pulls, moving in space, and reaching into the second level. The grip strength he also shows off in pass protection and run blocking is impressive. His hand placement must improve and his football IQ has to improve as well. Charles may not be a plug-and-play guy day one but he does not have to be that either. He has upside and could start a year from now.

Linebacker: Akeem Davis-Gaither, Evan Weaver, Shaun Bradley

Akeem Davis-Gaither is by far the best player on the board right now. With great athleticism, instincts, and elite coverage ability, Davis-Gaither is a guy that should have gone off the board long ago on day two. If he makes it to 124, this pick should be a no brainer for the Steelers. Davis-Gaither would be the value steal of the draft at the linebacker position no matter how it is sliced up.

Evan Weaver and Shaun Bradley are two guys the Steelers have met with over the course of the process but could not be any more different as players and prospects. Weaver is a Tyler Matakevich clone. A productive tackler with great instincts but simply lacking in athleticism in all facets on tape. Bradley is a great athlete who has fluidity and can carry tight ends up the seam in coverage. However, he is a shaky tackler and is as raw as sushi mentally when he reads through his keys.

Running Back: Eno Benjamin, Sewo Olonilua

The Steelers passed on both Cam Akers and JK Dobbins for Claypool and as such are still certainly in the market for a running back in this class if they see it fit.

Benjamin is a complete running back that struggles with doing too much in the backfield at times. Watching his tape he just needs to be more decisive and trust his instincts that are most often right. However, he runs with lots of physically and has soft hands out of the backfield with good pass protection ability as well. He could certainly fit the bill here.

Olonilua had a ton of meetings with the Steelers over the course of the process and is a massive running back. Aside from his size and physicality, Oloniulua has good burst and quickness for his size, which is a boon to his prospects. As a receiver, Olonilua has a healthy route tree and soft hands. In the later rounds on day three, this could be a route the Steelers look at.

Defensive Line: Leki Fotu, Bravvion Roy

These two options make a lot of sense if the Steelers are looking towards getting a nose tackle to fill the spot that Javon Hargrave once occupied. The need is certainly there even if the Steelers have not met with almost any of the defensive lineman that they could be interested in throughout the process.

Fotu is a juiced-up nose tackle that has great run defense capabilities due to a great anchor and fantastic strength at the point of attack. The guy knows how to stack and shed blocks and control the point of attack with great field awareness and gap integrity. His pad level, however, can swell and he does have issues with his pass rush plan that does lower his ceiling.

Roy, on the other hand, has a good deal of upside and could be had with a sixth-round pick. An explosive, strong player, Roy would not only bring a massive run-stuffer to the middle of the Steelers defense, but he brings a developmental prospect that is run stuffer from day one and could develop pass-rush upside with his physical and athletic tools as well.